Bushclover dodder

Cuscuta verrucosa Engelmann var. glabrior Engelmann, Amer. J. Sci. Arts 43: 341. 1842; C. glabrior var. pubescens (Engelmann) Yuncker; C. pentagona Engelmann var. glabrior (Engelmann) Gandhi, R. D. Thomas & S. L. Hatch; C. pentagona var. pubescens (Engelmann) Yuncker

Stems orange, medium. Inflorescences loose to compact, glomerulate or corymbiform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate or ovate-triangular to lanceolate, membranous, margins entire, apex acute. Pedicels 0.8–4(–5) mm, sometimes papillate. Flowers 5-merous, 2.5–3.8 mm, membranous, perianth and ovary papillate; calyx yellow to reddish brown, cupulate, ± equaling corolla tube length, divided 1/2–2/3 its length, ± reticulate, shiny, lobes ovate-triangular, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, without multicellular protuberances, apex obtuse to subacute; corolla white, drying yellow to reddish brown, 1.4–3.4 mm, tube campanulate, later globose, 1.1–1.8 mm, saccate between lines of stamen attachments, lobes spreading to reflexed, triangular, equaling corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate, inflexed; infrastaminal scales ovate to spatulate, 1.2–2 mm, equaling or longer than corolla tube length, bridged at 0.3–0.5 mm, rounded, uniformly densely fimbriate, fimbriae 0.3–0.7 mm; stamens exserted, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.4–0.7 mm; anthers 0.4–0.7 × 0.4–0.5 mm; styles filiform, 0.9–1.6 mm, equaling or longer than ovary. Capsules depressed-globose to depressed, 1.5–2.8 × 2.1–3.5 mm, not thickened or raised around relatively mid-sized to large interstylar aperture, not translucent, 1/2–2/3 of base enveloped by withered corolla, indehiscent. Seeds 2–4, angled, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, 0.9–1.1 × 0.8–1 mm, hilum region subterminal.

Flowering Apr–Sep. Hosts: Amaranthus, Ambrosia, Amphiachyris, Asclepias, Convolvulus, Coreopsis, Croton, Dalea, Dyschoriste, Evolvulus, Gilia, Hedeoma, Helenium, Justicia, Lespedeza, Liatris, Machaeranthera, Medicago, Mimosa, Oenothera, Plantago, Polygonum, Prosopis, Ruellia, Solanum, Symphyotrichum, Thele­sperma, Tragia, Verbena, and other herbs; 10–1200 m; La., N.Mex., Okla., Tex., Utah; Mexico.

Cuscuta glabrior differs from C. campestris by papillate perianths, non-overlapping calyx lobe bases, corollas saccate between lines of stamen attachments, and capsules more than half enveloped by withered corolla.

Cuscuta glabrior is currently included in North American noxious weed lists although it is not known to attack any crops.