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Beaked Dodder

Cuscuta rostrata

Found in northern hardwood forests; forest edges and thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

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

Recorded in 3 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 110 animals.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Cuscuta

  • 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
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS2
Global rankG4
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources