Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Tuesday - March 13, 2012

From: Kerrville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: General Botany
Title: Are Cuscuta spp. (dodders) in Cuscutaceae or Convolvulaceae?
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

USDA plant database has the species Cuscuta in the CUSCUTACEAE FAMILY; you have it in the CONVOLVULACEAE FAMILY. Which is correct? Thank you.

ANSWER:

Our Native Plant Database shows all but one of the 13 species in the Genus Cuscuta (dodders) included in our Native Plant Database as being in the Family Cuscutaceae.  There is one, however, Cuscuta cuspidata (Angel hair), that is, at present, mistakenly shown in our database as being in the Family Convolvulaceae.

There is some controversy about which family the Genus Cuscuta belongs in.  Some botanists have it in the Family Cuscutaceae and some would put it in the Family Convolvulaceae.  Our Native Plant Database follows the nomenclature used by the USDA Plants Database that has all the Cuscuta in the Family Cuscutaceae. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), however, lists all  Cuscuta spp. under the Family Convolvulaceae.  I found this statement under the entry for Cuscutaceae in Shinners and Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas, page 572:

"Related to the Convolvulaceae and sometimes treated as a monogeneric tribe in that family; however, Cuscutaceae can be readily distinguished by their parasitic habit, absence of chlorophyll and lack of contact with the soil after parasitizing a host..."

You can read more about the choice of Cuscutaceae or Convolvulaceae in a 1999 lecture by James L. Reveal from the Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland.

Thank you for pointing out this discrepancy in our Native Plant Database.   It will be corrected.

 

More General Botany Questions

Where do snake herb and skeleton-leaf goldeneye get their names?
October 05, 2014 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Where does snake herb, and skeleton leaf goldeneye get their names from? Thank you.
view the full question and answer

Dictionary of botanical names
September 02, 2011 - I am looking for an online resource that will tell me what the botanical names mean, for example, Cornus florida. Why is it named that? Surely somewhere there is information that explains the meanin...
view the full question and answer

Blooming but not berrying American bittersweet from Pendleton IN
May 29, 2013 - I have had a bittersweet plant for years, it blooms but not berries. How do I tell if it is male or female so I can buy the opposite? It is currently blooming.
view the full question and answer

How can I distinguish Hibiscus laevis from Pavonia braziliensis in New Braunfels, TX?
September 12, 2011 - How can I distinguish Hibiscus laevis (Halberdleaf Hibiscus) from Pavonia braziliensis (Brazillian Rock Rose)? Earlier this year I was given the former by a friend and former NPSOT chap...
view the full question and answer

Possible reasons for yellow heads for Indian Blanket
December 13, 2005 - I had Indian Blanket flowers that had almost pure yellow heads. Will the seeds of these flowers produce plants that will have yellow flowers?
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.