1387

                                                          Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.

Synonym	:	Cuscuta grandiflora Wall.
Family	:	Conolvulaceae
Local name	:	English- Dodder Malayalam-  Moodillathaali
Flowering and fruiting period	:	November-March
Distribution	:	Indo- Malaya, China
Distribution in Kerala	:	Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Wayanad, Kozhikkode
Habitat	:	Deciduous forests, also in the plains, obligate parasite on plants
Uses		Used in Ayurveda, Folk medicine, Unani, Siddha
Key botanical characters: Stout succulent twiners; stem up to 2.5 mm in diam., yellowish. Flowers sessile in lateral racemes. Calyx cupular, lobes herbaceous, c. 1.5 mm long, suborbicular. Corolla cream coloured, c. 7 mm across, 6-8 mm long, funnel-form; lobes ovate-triangular, erect. Stamens 5; filaments very short; corolla scale ovate to oblong, fimbriate. Ovary c. 2 mm long, conical, stigma acute. Capsule succulent, c. 5 mm across, globose-conical. Seeds 3-3.5 mm long, black.