Cassytha

Cassytha L. (1753) is a genus of 17 species of parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae, mainly native to Australia, but with a few species in Africa, southern Asia, and one (C. filiformis) in Hawaii, northern South America, Central America southernmost North America (southern Florida) and Japan.

Additional recommended knowledge

Guide to balance cleaning: 8 simple steps

How to ensure accurate weighing results every day?

How to quickly check pipettes?

The plants bear a striking, though superficial, resemblance to Cuscuta (dodder), an unrelated genus in the family Convolvulaceae, making an excellent example of convergent evolution.

Selected species

• Cassytha aurea - Australia
• Cassytha candida - Australia
• Cassytha capillaris - Australia
• Cassytha ciliolata - South Africa
• Cassytha flava - Australia
• Cassytha glabella - Australia and Japan (Okinawa)
• Cassytha filiformis - Hawaii, South and Central America, Florida, Japan (Okinawa)
• Cassytha melantha - Australia
• Cassytha micrantha - Australia
• Cassytha nodiflora - Australia
• Cassytha pomiformis - Australia
• Cassytha pubescens - Australia and Japan (Okinawa)
• Cassytha racemosa - eastern Australia

Note that the homonym Cassytha Mill. (1768) is a synonym of the cactus genus Rhipsalis

See also

• Parasitic plant

References

• Weber, J. Z.:A taxonomic revision of Cassytha (Lauraceae) in Australia.Journal of Adelaide Botanic Gardens 3:187-262, 1981