Cassytha
| Cassytha | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Cassytha filiformis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: |
Cassytha L. |
| species | |
|
See text |
|
See text
Cassytha is a genus of some two dozen species of obligately parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae. Superficially, and in some aspects of their ecology, they closely resemble plants in the unrelated genus Cuscuta, the dodders. When fruit and flowers are absent in the field, the physical resemblance is so close that few people without technical training can tell them apart. In this respect and in their ecology the two genera present a spectacular example of convergent evolution. In its divergence from habits typical of the Lauraceae, Cassytha also presents examples of mosaic evolution
Several species of Cassytha are regarded as pests in various regions, though as a rule they are not as serious a problem as the true dodders. Some even yield a welcome harvest of fruit, or are valued for their perceived medicinal or aphrodisiac properties, partly because, like many members of the Lauraceae, some are fragrant when bruised. Their stems make useful strings for construction of thatched roofs and certain styles of lei and the like.
Probably the most useful common names for Cassytha species are laurel dodder or dodder laurel, because they look like dodder and are fragrant members of the laurel family, Lauraceae. The name love vine has merit because some species, in particular C. filiformis, are regarded as aphrodisiacs in the Caribbean region. In practice, however, the confusion between the various species of Cassytha and Cuscuta is so unavoidable that their common names are more or less interchangeable. Practically all the common names for dodder accordingly are widely applied in error to Cassytha as well, but as a matter of convenience in Florida at least, where members of both groups of plants are present as agricultural pests, a publication of the Department of Agriculture adopts the names woe vine for Cassytha and dodder for Cuscuta.
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Wikipedia