Cuscuta chinensisLam.

Gila River dodder

WFO wfo-0001296656 Accepted WFO 2026-06 5 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–e · 1 observation

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 1 time, 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 chinensis, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. a Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / 2015-09-07 / obs. 21756716
Cuscuta chinensis, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. b Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 21756793
Cuscuta chinensis, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. c Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 21756779
Cuscuta chinensis, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. d Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 21756832
Cuscuta chinensis, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. e Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 21756804

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 52 botanical countries

Regions where Cuscuta chinensis is native: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Socotra, Sudan-South Sudan, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, Nansei-shoto, Primorye, Qinghai, Saudi Arabia, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Arizona, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, New Mexico, Texas, Utah EritreaEthiopiaGhanaMadagascarSudan-South SudanAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaIranIraqJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanManchuriaMongoliaPrimoryeQinghaiSaudi ArabiaTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTurkmenistanUzbekistanXinjiangAssamBangladeshIndiaMyanmarNepalPakistanSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaArizonaMexico CentralMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestNew MexicoTexasUtah KoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.
Native distribution of Cuscuta chinensis, 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
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Nansei-shoto NNS
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Saudi Arabia SAU
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
Xinjiang CHX
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
New Mexico NWM
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Eritrea ERI AFRICA
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Madagascar MDG
Socotra SOC
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

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 12 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.

  • Cuscuta alataloba var. monosperma Yunck.
  • Cuscuta applanata Engelm.
  • Cuscuta carinata R.Br.
  • Cuscuta chinensis var. carinata (R.Br.) Engelm.
  • Cuscuta ciliaris Hohen.
  • Cuscuta exigua Herb.Par. ex Engelm.
  • Cuscuta fimbriata Bunge ex Engelm.
  • Cuscuta maritima Makino
  • Cuscuta sulcata Roxb.
  • Grammica aphylla Lour.
  • Grammica applanata (Engelm.) Hadač & Chrtek
  • Pentake chinense (Lam.) Raf.

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. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol CUAP. public domain. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. 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.