''Cuscuta pentagona'', the fiveangled dodder, is a

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

plant in the morning glory family

Convolvulaceae Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweed, bindweeds or morning glory, morning glories, is a Family (biology), family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, sh ...

. It is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where it is widespread in the United States and Canada. Unlike the closely related '' C. campestris'', it has not become established on other continents. ''Cuscuta pentagona'' is a slender annual vine. It is parasitic on a wide range of herbaceous plants, but with particular emphasis on members of the aster family (

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

). Its typical natural habitat is in moist, open areas such as riverbanks, wet prairies, and pond edges. It is tolerant of disturbance, as can be found as a weed in fields and along roadsides.

References

pentagona Flora of Northern America Parasitic plants Plants described in 1842 Invasive plant species in Japan Taxa named by George Engelmann {{Parasitic plant-stub