35. Cuscuta pacifica Costea & M. A. R. Wright, Syst. Bot. 34: 792, fig. 6. 2009.
Pacific salt-marsh dodder
Stems orange, slender. Inflorescences dense, umbelliform to subglomerulate; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate. Pedicels 0.5–2 mm, sometimes with domelike cells. Flowers 5-merous, 3.5–6 mm, membranous, papillate or corolla lobes, sometimes calyx, with domelike cells; calyx creamy yellow, usually drying dull brown, rarely drying yellow, campanulate to cupulate, equaling corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes ovate-triangular, bases slightly overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to acuminate; corolla white, generally drying dark brown (rarely creamy yellow), 2.8–5.4 mm, tube campanulate, 1.5–2.6 mm, not saccate, lobes erect to spreading, broadly ovate to rhombic-ovate, equaling corolla tube length, bases overlapping, margins entire or irregular, apex usually acute to cuspidate, sometimes appearing tridentate, straight; infrastaminal scales oblong to slightly obovate, 1–1.5 mm, 1/2–3/4 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.3–0.5 mm, with few short fimbriae 0.05–0.1 mm; stamens included in completely open flower, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.3–0.6 mm; anthers 0.3–0.6 × 0.3–0.5 mm; styles filiform, 0.4–0.9 mm, shorter than ovary. Capsules ovoid, 2–3.6 × 1.4–2.1 mm, thickened around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, surrounded by withered corolla, indehiscent. Seeds 1 or 2, ± obcompressed, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, 1.4–1.9 × 1.2–1.4 mm, hilum subterminal.
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora): w North America, nw Mexico.
Cuscuta pacifica was segregated from C. salina based on their different morphology, reproductive biology, host range, geographical distribution, and ecology (M. Costea et al. 2009).
