Warner’s dodder

Stems yellow, filiform. Inflo­rescences dense, glomer­ulate or corymbiform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0(or 1), ovate, mem­branous, margins entire, apex acute. Pedicels 0.5–1 mm, papillate. Flowers 5-merous, 2.1–4 mm, slightly fleshy, perianth cells convex, domelike, papillate on corolla, ovary, and cap­sule; calyx brownish yellow, campanulate-cupulate, 1/2 corolla tube length, divided 1/2 its length, not reticulate, not shiny, lobes triangular-ovate, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein carinate, sometimes with multicellular projections, apex enlarged, each with a hornlike appendage 0.5–0.7 mm; corolla creamy white, drying brownish, 1.8–3.5 mm, tube campanulate-urceolate, 1.5–2.5 mm, not saccate, lobes erect, con­nivent, triangular-ovate, 1/4–1/3 corolla tube length, mar­gins entire, apex acute, inflexed; infrastaminal scales relatively poorly developed, oblong, 1.3–1.2 mm, 4/5 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.2–0.3 mm, truncate, irregularly dentate or short-fimbriate distally, fimbriae 0.05–0.1 mm; stamens included, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.4–0.5 mm; anthers 0.4–0.7 × 0.3–0.5 mm; styles filiform, 0.2–0.4 mm, shorter than ovary. Capsules globose, 1.8–2.5 × 1.9–3 mm, thickened and raised in collar around style base, translucent, surrounded or capped by withered corolla, indehiscent. Seeds 3 or 4, shape heterogeneous on same plant: obcompressed to weakly angled, broadly ellipsoid to transversely oblique, 1.3–1.6 × 1.2–1.4 mm, hilum region subterminal.

Flowering Jun–Sep. Hosts: known only from Phyla cuneata and P. incisa; of conservation concern; 1500–1700 m; N.Mex., Utah.

Cuscuta warneri is currently considered possibly extinct in Utah by NatureServe (http://explorer.natureserve.org); it was rediscovered in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, in 2008.