Dodder laurel
Cassytha filiformis

Family: Lauraceae

What it is like

A fine straggling leafless creeper or vine that climbs over plants and gets at least some if its food from the other plants. The leaves are very small and like scales, and clasp the stem. The stem is orange to yellow and twines around plants, attaching by small suckers. The flower is small and the sepals are like bracts. The petals are white and fleshy. The flowers are 0.1-0.2 cm long. It has very small, berry-like fruit (4-5 mm across) which are green when young and turn white when ripe. The flesh is clear and the black seed can be seen from the outside.

There are 15-20 Cassytha species. Sometimes they are in the family Cassythaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lowland mangrove swamp areas and in scattered forest. It suits sandy and infertile areas and is often on coastal dunes. It occurs throughout the tropics. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, American Samoa, Andaman Is.,Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Comoros, Congo R, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guam, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nambia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, North America, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rotuma, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Torres Strait, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The ripe fruit is eaten. There is only a small amount of edible flesh around the central seed. CAUTION: Some Cassytha have an alkaloid that can cause abortion and should not therefore be eaten by pregnant women.

The fruit are enjoyed especially by children.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

It grows wild. Seeds germinate in the soil, but the plants attach to another plant getting support and food from the host plant.

Its other names

Local names

Agasi, Akar pengalasan, Akasa balli, Akasbel, Akashavalli, Amarbeli, Amarvela, Ariwurrini, Beluballi, Burrun burrun, Chemar batu, Cossagos, Dacacdufe, Devil's guts, Djirawan, Erumaikkottan, Famahotrakanga, Fetai, Feteinoa, Gau laululu'i, Hitubelagi, Kalku, Koh Samet, Lu'on ravaka, Lwandao, Nulu, Panabanab, Phak mai, Rayong, Redea-de-santcho, Saksinji, Sangazingi, Sangga langit, Shwe-nwe, Tali puteri, Tega, Te ntanini, Tjelknganiny, Tjirrkinin, Toxanh, Udamba, Umbulivella, Velanbuli, Wolle dialla, Wu gen teng, Yarrngiyarrngi, Yugulu, Zangazanga

Synonyms

Calodium cochinchinensis Lour.; Cassytha americana Nees; Cassytha cuscutiformis F. Muell. ex Meisn.; and several others