Dodder

Cuscuta epithymum

Dodder - a leafless parasitic vine that attaches its reddish-orange threadlike stems to green plants by means of suckers to draw out nourishment. Pinkish-white flowers (July-September) have five sharp, spreading, triangular lobes and grow in dense clusters. The seeds may remain dormant for up to eight years. Dodder is a nuisance to farmers growing alfalfa and clover.

Dodder has always been an unpopular country plant. Dodder is also known as hellweed and devil's guts, due to its tendency to overrun and strangle the plant on which it feeds. This host can be thyme, gorse, or a crop such as beans. Dodder does, however, have medicinal benefits. In his Materia Medica, Dioscorides (1st century AD) noted its use in classical times in combination with honey to purge "black bile" and to lift a melancholy humor. In 1652, the herbalist Nicholas Culpeper similarly recommended dodder "to purge black or burnt choler." Culpeper further stated that dodder plucked off thyme is the most efficacious; making the interesting point that the parasite's medicinal benefits are determined in part by its host.

Other names

• Devil's Guts
• Hellweed
• Love Vine

Parts used

Aerial parts.

Uses

In line with its traditional use to purge black bile, dodder is still considered a valuable, though rarely used, herb for problems affecting the liver and gallbladder. Dodder is thought to support liver function and is taken for jaundice. Dodder has a mildly laxative effect and is also taken for urinary problems.

Habitat & cultivation

Dodder grows throughout Europe, Asia, and southern Africa. Dodder prefers coastal and mountainous regions, and is gathered in summer.

Constituents

Dodder contains flavonoids (including kaempferol and quercitin) and hydroxycinnamic acid.

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