| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Cuscutaceae |
| Genus: | Cuscuta |
| Herbar: | list records |
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| species: 5 |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Growth form: (i)Herb, shrub, tree or climber. | herb (i)Herbaceous, erect plant, up to 2m high, mostly with a leafy shoot; if perennial, shoots die to the ground each season, shoots are not woody
example: Artemisia pectinata   inherited by family Cuscutaceae: herb
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| Special growth forms or habits: | climber or liana (i)Plant with twinging stems
example: Clematis, Menispermum  inherited by family Cuscutaceae: climber or liana
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| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | Full parasite/ saprophyte (i)Full parasites without chlorophyll, entire plant lacking green color, often succulent
example: Cistanche inherited by family Cuscutaceae: Full parasite/ saprophyte
Parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant not or not fully autonomous, leaves often without chlorophyll
example: Cuscuta, Corallorhiza, Epipogium (holomycotrophic)c inherited by family Cuscutaceae: Parasite/saprophyte
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| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa inherited by family Cuscutaceae: terrestrial
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| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf development: (i)Structure and development of leaves. | without green leaves (i)Plant at flowering time (some geophytes) or over its whole life (many parasites) with reduced leaves without chlorophyll
example: Colchicum, Cuscuta, a lot of parasites inherited by family Cuscutaceae: without green leaves
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | pinnate (i)One main vein, several side veins, sometimes inconspicuous
example: Cicerbita    inherited by family Cuscutaceae: pinnate
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| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Flower appearance and pollination: (i)General appearance of the flower. | not attractive, wind-pollinated or some water plants (i)Small, colourless or green flowers
example: Betula, grasslike plants: Carex, Setaria, Juncus inherited by family Cuscutaceae: not attractive, wind-pollinated or some water plants
attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos inherited by family Cuscutaceae: attractive, animal-pollinated
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| Flower colour: (i)Attention: assess colour of the most colourful parts of the flower, but not of the stamens; be aware of single plants with a mutation (mostly white) on flower colour. | white (i)Most plants of the population white
example: Pleurospermum, Maianthemum inherited by family Cuscutaceae: white
pink (i)Between red and white
example: Centaurium inherited by family Cuscutaceae: pink
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| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | double, different (i)Two types of perianth leaves, differently coloured (sepals: outer periant leaves, usually greenish, and petals: inner perianth leaves, usually coloured)
example: Parnassia   inherited by family Cuscutaceae: double, different
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| Diameter of flower: (i)Diameter of flower or flower head. | to 5 mm (i)
example: Aruncus inherited by family Cuscutaceae:
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| Flower symmetry: (i)Symmetry of the perianth leaves. Attention: to assess this character, look on sepals, petals and stamens, but neglect carpels and ovary. | radiary, regular (actinomorphic) (i)More than two axis of symmetry
example: Saxifraga: 5; Iris: 3  inherited by family Cuscutaceae: radiary, regular (actinomorphic)
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| Flower form: (i)common forms of flowers ? Veronica | campanulate (i)Petals united to a bell-shaped corolla  inherited by family Cuscutaceae: campanulate
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| Sepal number: (i)Number of sepal leaves (outer perianth leaves, calyx leaves, mostly greenish). Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! Be also aware in Rosaceae is often an epicalyx developed, in this case count all parts. | 5 (i)
example: Polemonium inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 5
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| Sepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the sepal leaves connected? Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! | free (i)All leaves separate from each other
example: Geranium inherited by family Cuscutaceae: free
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 5 (i)
example: Potentilla inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 5
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| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | fused (i)petal leaves united, only tips are free (gamopetalous, sympetalous)
example: Linnaea, Adenophora, Stellera inherited by family Cuscutaceae: fused
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| Spur: (i)A hollow, slender, sac-like appendage of the perianth leaves, storing nectar. | no spur (i)Flower without appendage
example: Peganum inherited by family Cuscutaceae: no spur
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| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 5 (i)
example: Peucedanum inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 5
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| Stamen fusion: (i)To which degree are the stamens fused? Attention: Whereas the pollen sacs itself are often free., their stalks (filaments) may be fused. Here, we count them as fused if they are together over at least one thirth of their length. | free (i)Stamens with separate bases
example: Malus inherited by family Cuscutaceae: free
fused with a corolla (calyx in Thymelaeaceae) (i)Stamens with perianth leaves at least one third of the length of the filament
example: Orobanche, Salvia, Stellera inherited by family Cuscutaceae: fused with a corolla (calyx in Thymelaeaceae)
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| Pistil number: (i)Number of pistils (female floral organs: style, if developed; stigma and carpels/ovary together build the pistil). | 1 (i)One carpel, but clearly one stigma
example: Pyrola, Primula, Alyssum inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 1
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| Carpel number: (i)Number of carpels (carpel: forming a simple pistil or part of a compound pistil, modified leaf). | 2 inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 2
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| Carpel fusion: (i)To which degree are the carpels (modified leaf forming simple pistil or part of a compound pistil) fused. | fused (i)Carpels united into an ovary, only styles are free
example: Malus, Berberis inherited by family Cuscutaceae: fused
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| Style number: (i)Portion of the pistil connecting the stigma to the ovary. | 1 inherited by family Cuscutaceae: 1
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| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | superior (hypogynous) (i)Base of carpels attached above insertion point of perianth leaves, carpels free or fused
example: Delphinium, Anemone   inherited by family Cuscutaceae: superior (hypogynous)
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| Sex: (i)Distribution of male and female organs among flowers, only most commonly cases. | bisexual, hermaphrodite (i)All or nearly all flowers of a plant with male and female parts
example: Haplophyllum, Chenopodium inherited by family Cuscutaceae: bisexual, hermaphrodite
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| Inflorescence (i)flowering part of a plant, describes the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis | |
| Inflorescence: (i)Structure of the inflorescence. | Flowers in inflorescence (i)No solitary flowers inherited by family Cuscutaceae: Flowers in inflorescence
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| Appearance: (i)Outer look of the inflorescence. | axillary (i)Usually several inflorescences in axillary shoots or single flowers in leaf axils, main shoot remains mostly leafy
example: Tragopogon, Aconogonon inherited by family Cuscutaceae: axillary
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| Inflorescence type: (i)Types of inflorescence. Attention: We here ask for the botanical nomenclature of inflorescences, which is sufficiently complicated. Tick only, if you are certain, or tick all inflorescence types that appear similar of these of the plant in question. | raceme (i)Stalked flowers arranged along a simple main axis, often one by one in the axils of leaves, maturing from bottom upwards
example: Aconitum barbatum  inherited by family Cuscutaceae: raceme
head or capitulum (= calathidium) (i)Sessile flowers densely clustered on a compressed or widened axis, often surrounded by bracts, called involucral leaves
example: Asteraceae, Dipsacaceae, Sanguisorba, Trifolium   inherited by family Cuscutaceae: head or capitulum (= calathidium)
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| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | dry (i)With a dry outer shell, no fleshy parts, but seed (embryo) could be edible inherited by family Cuscutaceae: dry
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Solitary fruits (i)    inherited by family Cuscutaceae: Solitary fruits
capsule (i)Dry dehiscent fruit, releasing seeds by slits or holes.
example: Poppy, most Caryophyllaceae, Cerastium, a lot of Scrophulariaceae, Iris (oppened capsule looks like Delphinium), Zygophyllum - it is a very common fruit type    inherited by family Cuscutaceae: capsule
Dehiscent fruits (i)Fruits open along a longitudinale line (except silicula) inherited by family Cuscutaceae: Dehiscent fruits
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| Opening of fruit: (i)Mode of dehiscence at maturity to release seeds. | opening along dehiscent line (i)Opening along a preformed line
example: Vicia, Lathyrus: pods inherited by family Cuscutaceae: opening along dehiscent line
opening / dehiscent (i)Dry? Fruits opening with different types inherited by family Cuscutaceae: opening / dehiscent
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| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | allorhizous (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root, one larger tap root with side roots
example: Dicotyledonae inherited by order Solanales: allorhizous
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