Cuscuta campestris, Field Dodder,
Hebrew: כשות השדות, Arabic: خُنيق

Scientific name:  Cuscuta campestris Yuncker
Common name:  Field Dodder
Hebrew name:  כשות השדות
Arabic name:  خُنيق
Plant Family:  Convolvulaceae, חבלבליים

Israel flowers, Cuscuta campestris, Field Dodder, כשות השדות

Life form:  Parasite
Stems:  Yellow stems, thin, circular in cross section and extensively-branched; 0.2-0.4mm in diameter and smooth
Leaves:  Alternate, scale
Flowers:  White, bell-shaped 2-2.5 mm long; calyx and corolla have 5 lobes; flowers in dense clusters
Fruits / pods:  globular capsules 3-4 mm in diameter containing up to 4 seeds; seeds are tan-coloured, more or less globular but with a flattened side, the surface is granular
Flowering Period:   May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Habitat:   Disturbed habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:  American
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

פרחים וצמחי בר בארץ ישראל, כשות השדות


Derivation of the botanical name:
Cuscuta, a name of Arabic derivation meaning "dodder"
campestris, of or pertaining to a field; on level ground, of fields.
  • The standard author abbreviation Yuncker is used to indicate Truman George Yuncker (1891 – 1964), an American taxonomic botanist.