Cuscuta europaea

Taxonomy and growth

Genus

Cuscuta

Life cycle

annual

Flower type

hermaphrodite

Uses

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, where it is considered to have a bitter, acrid and sweet taste with a heating potency^[3]. It is aphrodisiac, renal and a hepatic tonic, being used to increase semen, to treat pain in the wrist and limbs, vaginal/seminal discharge, polyuria, tinnitus and blurred vision^[3].

Environment

Range

Europe to North Africa and eastern Asia.

Habitat

Open grassy localities, streamsides and hilly areas at elevations of 800 - 3,100 metres in China^[5].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

light shade

Water

moderate

Soil textures

sandy, loamy, clay

Soil pH

acid, neutral, alkaline

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

No

Drought

intolerant

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

241 This is a parasitic species that is devoid of leaves, roots or chlorophyll and so is totally dependant upon its host^[2]. A climbing plant, it must be grown close to a host plant around which it will twine itself and which it will penetrate with suckers in order to obtain nutriment^[2][4]. It Britain it is found most commonly growing on the roots of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and hops (Humulus lupulus)^[1], whilst in China it is found mainly on plants in the families Composite, Leguminosae and Chenopodiaceae, though it can also be found on many other herbaceous plants^[5].

Related plants

• Cuscuta chinensisChinese Dodder
• Cuscuta epythymumLesser Dodder
• Cuscuta japonicaJapanese Dodder
• Cuscuta megalocarpaBigfruit Dodder

References

1. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

   ↩

2. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

   ↩1↩2

3. Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994-00-00 ISBN 81-900489-0-2

   ↩1↩2

4. Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994-00-00 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8

   ↩

5. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

   • Flora of China
   ↩1↩2