Coarse Dodder-laurel - a native (Cassytha melantha)

Other names: Strangle Vine, Tangled Dodder-laurel.

Family: Lauraceae (Laurel family).

Native of southern Australia.

Occurrence: A forest plant. It may be locally abundant.

Identification:

• the plant is an (apparently) leafless twiner, that climbs over large shrubs and trees
• the coarse stems are several millimetres across
• the twining stems attach themselves to the supporting plant by suckers
• the fruit are ovoid, and become brown as they ripen.

The plant germinates in the soil. After attachment to the supporting plant, direct contact with the ground may be lost. The vine may completely cover the host plant and kill it.

Similar Species: Slender Dodder-laurel has slender stems, and seldom grows to more than 30 cm high. It tangles over small shrubs.

Photos: 1 and 2: Twining stems of Coarse Dodder-laurel, climbing over Red Box. 3: Dense growth. Fryerston and Chewton.