Species name :

Cuscuta campestris Yuncker
Published in Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 18: 138 (1932)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Cuscuta pentagona

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [PlantList] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Convolvulaceae Juss. (The BindWeed Family)
21 species from the Convolvulaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Western Field Dodder, Golden Dodder, Field Dodder

Maltese name(s) :

Pittma tal-Amerika

Status for Malta :

Species that was introduced in Malta after year 1492 and spreads to form established, non-invasive populations. It may become become invasive if it widespreads rapidly.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: THEROPHYTE (annuals)
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Dec-Apr

Colour of Flowers:

White or Pink

Habitat in Europe:

Parasite on cultivated species of Trifolium and Medicago, but also on other herbs

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Botanical Description:

Stems moderately stout, yellowish. Flowers 2-3 mm, 5-merous; pedicels short; glomerules 10-12 mm in diameter, compact, globose. Calyx campanulate, about as long as corolla-tube; lobes ovate or orbicular, obtuse, slightly overlapping. Corolla-lobes acute, triangular, patent (often with inflexed apex), about as long as the shortly campanulate tube. Stamens exserted. Scales long, densely fimbriate, exserted. Styles slender, about as long as the globose ovary. Capsule 2-3 mm in diameter, depressed-globose, pale, with the persistent corolla at its base. Seeds 1-1.2 mm.

Distributional range:

Widely naturalized in S., C. & W. Europe

Native region outside Europe:

(North America.)

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993):

Introduced in Albania, Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Bulgaria, Czeck Republic and Slovakia, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Germany, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Russia and former USSR, C W Doubtful in Sardinia

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

[AE(G) nAl Au nAu(A) Be nBe(B L) Bl nBl(M N) nBr Bu By Cg Co nCr Cs nCt Cy nEg Es nGa(F) nGe Gg(D G) Gr He Ho Hs nHs(S) Hu Ir aIs nIt Jo La Le Lt nLu nMa Mo Po Rf(C CS K NW S) Rm nSa nSi(S) Sk nSl nSn Su Sy nTn Tu(A E) Uk(K U)]