Dodder, Giant dodder
Cuscuta reflexa
Family: Convolvulaceae
What it is like
Cuscuta reflexa is a PERENNIAL. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0
Where it is found
Parasitic on Desmodium spp, Rubus spp and Viburnum spp at 1700 - 2900 metres in Kashmir. It is also found on Zizyphus jujube and Vitex negundo and has been known to kill these plants.
E. Asia - Himalayas from Afghanistan to China.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Asia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 2
The seeds are alterative, anthelmintic and carminative. They are used in the treatment of bilious disorders. The stems are used in the treatment of bilious disorders. The whole plant is purgative. It is used internally in treating protracted fevers and externally in the treatment of body pains and itchy skin. The plant is employed in Ayurvedic medicine to treat difficulty in urinating, jaundice, muscle pain and coughs. The juice of the plant, mixed with the juice of Saccharum officinarum, is used in the treatment of jaundice. The analysis of the plant differs according to the host it is growing on. The report does not say if this makes a difference to its medicinal properties.
Alterative: Causes a gradual beneficial change in the body, usually through improved nutrition and elimination, without having any marked specific action.
Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.
Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.
Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.
Other
Rating: 0
How it is grown
We have virtually no information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. One report says that it needs cold greenhouse treatment in this country but some provenances from the higher parts of its range could succeed outdoors. This is a parasitic species that is devoid of leaves, roots or chlorophyll and so is totally dependant upon its host. It must be grown next to the host plant, which it penetrates with suckers in order to obtain nutriment.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn, by lodging it among the stems of a host plant that is being grown in a pot in the greenhouse.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Can be weedy or invasive. Cuscuta species are quarantine pests in many countries. Capable of serious crop damage. A 'principal' or 'serious' weed in Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Pakistan
Its other names
Local names
Dodder, giant dodder, French: cuscute; cuscute grosse.