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Compact Dodder

Cuscuta compacta

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in floodplain and bottomland forests; streams, rivers and their banks; freshwater marshes; swamps; pine savannas; seeps and springs; wet meadows. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

43
Good

Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
July to November

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 25 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 7

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Cuscuta

  • Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
  • Caudellia apyrellaCrescent-Winged Caudellia
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Cuscuta

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Cuscuta

  • Colletes ciliatus
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cuscuta

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Convolvulaceae
Flower color
White

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources