Cuscuta campestris Yunck.
Golden dodder (Cuscuta campestris) is a leafless, annual parasitic vine that is native to North America. It was introduced to New Zealand in contaminated seed and was first recorded in the wild (naturalised) in 1941. The plant has slender, yellow to orange stems that twine around host plants and attach using specialised structures called haustoria, which draw water and nutrients from the host. It flowers from January to April, producing clusters of small white flowers, which develop into round capsules containing several seeds. It reproduces by seed. Seeds are dispersed in contaminated seed lots, soil, water and by human activities. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for many years.
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