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Cusp Dodder

Cuscuta cuspidata

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in bottomland forests and fields, especially on Asteraceae. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status unresolved in Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
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At a glance

Bloom
June to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

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

Recorded in 7 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 2

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

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)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Convolvulaceae

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

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankNot available
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources