Strangleweed. Devil’s guts. Witches shoelaces. These sinister nicknames are fitting for a
plant that chokes and sucks the life from its unsuspecting victims. If plants could dream,
this parasitic vine-like vampire would certainly be their nightmare fuel. This is the dodder.
Hi I’m Tasha the Amazon and you’re watching Floralogic. Today we’re
talking about , commonly known as dodders, and even more commonly known as the anaconda
of the plant world. Wait, I just made that up, but I’m sure it’ll stick after this!
Before we continue, I'd like to thank Nature on PBS for sponsoring this video.
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This genus of around 170 species of parasitic plants can sniff out their victims before
strangling them and sucking their life force. The evil cousin of the Convolvulaceae family
of beautiful morning glories, the dodder is one relative you don’t want to tangle with.
Most species of dodder have almost completely lost the ability to photosynthesize, lacking the
chlorophyll that typically makes plants green and is a key element in turning sunlight into energy.
That’s why dodders appear in a variety of non-green hues such as yellow, orange,
pink and brown. That’s also why they need to sap off their hosts for energy,
since they can’t produce enough of their own. The process of how a dodder goes from seed to
energy vampire is a choreographed dance that requires perfect timing.
Dodders begin as independent little seedlings, germinating in the ground with their own roots
in the spring and summer. They emerge as leafless stems which lasso counterclockwise until they find
the helpless stem of a host to wrap themselves around, at which point their own roots die off.
Due to their basic AF in-house food production system, if these plants -- who are definitely
Team Edward -- can’t reach a host within 3 to 5 days, the seedlings wither and die.
If they do manage to wrap their deadly tendrils around the closest host,
they first cement themselves to the plant with a layer of pectin,
a type of carbohydrate that works as a binding agent.
You’re probably no stranger to pectin. You might have even eaten it this morning on your toast!
It’s the same stuff that makes jam and jelly deliciously gelatinous.
Within a few days of gluing itself to the host, the dodder’s own roots die and it sprouts
haustoria, root-like structures that penetrate the host’s stem and start sucking its juices.
I told you the dodder was a fang-wielding vampire! Scientists have long wondered how the dodder
locates its hosts. To add the bloody cherry on top of this cake of horrors, researchers at Penn State
University determined that dodders can actually sniff out the chemical signals of their victims.
And dodders have a very discerning taste! They can tell plants apart based on their
scent and will grow towards their faves. I guess it’s kind of like standing in
the middle of the food court and letting your nose guide you to the closest burrito stand.
Once attached to their host, these Dracula-wannabes spread at an alarming rate.
Growing about 7cm a day, dodder can completely blanket an area of three meters square
in a single growth season. That’s bigger than a double bed!
A dodder is an insatiable creature. Once established, it branches out to other surrounding
plants to start sucking off of them too, making a thick mat of tangled, choking vines. And to
add injury to injury, the dodder can actually transmit viruses from one host to another.
They’re basically nature’s super-spreader event. To complete its deadly life cycle,
the dodder flowers. These cream-coloured bell-shaped blooms usually appear in clusters
and produce 2 to 3 seeds each. One species of dodder, Cuscuta australis, picks up on protein
signals from the host plant to initiate flowering. This synchronized flowering ultimately helps the
dodder flowers attract more pollinators, therefore ensuring its continued success.
Dodder seeds can stay dormant in the ground for 5, 10 and up to 30 years, depending on conditions.
That level of immortality is something only a vamp can truly understand.
Resistance against the deadly dodder may seem futile but some plants have actually
evolved to elude the dodder’s deadly embrace. Some mallows like the upland cotton and Hawaiian
hibiscus both form a type of wound tissue to prevent the dodder’s haustoria from penetrating
their stems. This is the stake in its heart. With no energy to suck, that dodder is dusted!
Dodder only spreads by seed, so stopping them from going to seed is a great first step towards
preventing future outbreaks. Extra precautions have to be taken when working in areas with dodder
infestations: Clothing and equipment should be cleaned thoroughly to prevent spread. ‘Cause
by the time you notice it’s spread to your area, you’re already dead… if you’re a plant, of course!
So what should we talk about next? Please let me know in the comments and don’t forget
to subscribe for new episodes every week. Thanks for watching. See ya!
most species of daughter have completely lost the ability to flow why
let's do do it again
you're probably okay let's take it down a notch tasha jesus you're probably no stranger
to pectin you might have even had some on your toast this morning if huh what's up
like calm down you're probably no stranger to pectin it's even in stuff in that you eat
i told you the daughter was a fang wielding maniac
like that is that why they're looking exactly what they want
what did i tell you i told you the fodder is a dawn wheeling song we got okay i told you didn't i