What is Dodder?
{{taxobox |image = Cuscuta europaea bgiu.jpg |image_caption = Dodder on a Danewort |regnum = [[Plantae]] |unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]] |unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]] |unranked_ordo = [[Asterids]] |ordo = [[Solanales]] |familia = [[Convolvulaceae]] |genus = '''''Cuscuta''''' |genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = about 100–170 species }} The '''Dodder''', '''''Cuscuta''''', is a [[genus]] of about 100–170 [[species]] of [[parasitic]] [[flowering plant]]s. Recent [[genetics|genetic]] research has shown that it is correctly placed in the [[morning glory]] family, [[Convolvulaceae]]. The genus is found throughout the [[temperate]] and [[tropical]] regions of the world. Most species live in [[subtropical]] and [[tropical]] regions. The genus is rare in cool temperate climates, with only four species native to northern [[Europe]]. ==Appearance== Dodder can be identified by its thin stems. They look leafless, with the [[leaf|leaves]] reduced to minute scales. From mid-summer to early autumn, the vines can produce small fruit that take the same color as the vine, and are about the size of a common pea. It has very low levels of [[chlorophyll]]; some species, such as ''Cuscuta reflexa'', can [[photosynthesis|photosynthesize]] slightly. Others such as ''C. europaea'' are entirely dependent on the host plants for nutrition.<ref>Machado M.A. & Zetsche K. 1990. A structural, functional and molecular analysis of plastids of the holoparasites ''Cuscuta reflexa'' and ''Cuscuta europaea''. ''Planta'' 181: 91–96.</ref> [[File:Cuscuta europaea (on Urtica dioica).jpg|left|thumb|''Cuscuta europaea'' in flower]] Dodder [[flower]]s range in color from white to pink to yellow to cream. Some flower in the early summer, others later, depending on the species. The [[seed]]s are tiny, and produced in large amounts. They have a hard coating, and can survive in the soil for 5–10 years or more. == Life habit == Dodder seeds sprout at or near the surface of the [[soil]]. [[Ge