Cuscuta australisR.Br.

WFO wfo-0000750809 Accepted WFO 2026-06 5 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–e · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Cuscuta australis, photographed by Carrie Seltzer
fig. a Carrie Seltzer, CC BY 4.0 / 2020-01-20 / obs. 60124640
Cuscuta australis, photographed by Roman
fig. b Roman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 86173760
Cuscuta australis, photographed by Carrie Seltzer
fig. c Carrie Seltzer, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60124641
Cuscuta australis, photographed by Valerii Darmostuk
fig. d Valerii Darmostuk, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 86119637
Cuscuta australis, photographed by Carrie Seltzer
fig. e Carrie Seltzer, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60048478

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 65 botanical countries

Regions where Cuscuta australis is native: Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Qinghai, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Bangladesh, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, New Guinea, Sumatera, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Bulgaria, Corse, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Sicilia, South European Russia, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine BotswanaBurkinaCameroonEthiopiaGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaLiberiaMadagascarNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanInner MongoliaIranJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanManchuriaNorth CaucasusQinghaiTadzhikistanTaiwanTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangBangladeshIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaNew GuineaSumateraVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesQueenslandVictoriaWestern AustraliaBulgariaCorseFranceGreeceHungaryItalyNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalSiciliaSouth European RussiaSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine KoreaNansei-shoto
Native distribution of Cuscuta australis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
North Caucasus NCS
Qinghai CHQ
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Botswana BOT AFRICA
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Bulgaria BUL EUROPE
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Bangladesh BAN ASIA-TROPICAL
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
New Guinea NWG
Sumatera SUM
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 24 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cassutha chrysocoma Des Moul.
  • Cuscuta aurantiaca Req. ex Bertol.
  • Cuscuta bidentis Berthiot
  • Cuscuta breviflora Vis.
  • Cuscuta cesatiana Bertol.
  • Cuscuta chrysocoma Welw. ex Des Moul.
  • Cuscuta cordofana (Engelm.) Yunck.
  • Cuscuta grassii Delp.
  • Cuscuta hygrophilae H.Pearson
  • Cuscuta kawakamii Hayata
  • Cuscuta millettii Hook. & Arn.
  • Cuscuta nuda Pilg.
  • Cuscuta obtusiflora var. australis (R.Br.) Engelm.
  • Cuscuta obtusiflora var. cordofana Engelm.
  • Cuscuta obtusifolia var. australis (R.Br.) Engelm.
  • Cuscuta rogowitschiana Trautv.
  • Cuscuta scandens subsp. cesatiana (Bert.) Soó
  • Cuscuta scandens var. bidentis (Berthiot) Kerguélen
  • Grammica australis (R.Br.) Hadač & Chrtek
  • Grammica basarabica (Buia) Hadač & Chrtek
  • Grammica cesatiana (Bertol.) Chrtek
  • Grammica chrysocoma (Welw. ex Des Moul.) Des Moul.
  • Grammica scandens subsp. australis (R.Br.) Holub
  • Grammica scandens subsp. cesattiana (Bertol.) Holub

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.