Cassytha glabella form dispar
LAURACEAE
Slender Devils Twine, Snotty Gobble, Tangled Dodder Laurel, Slender Dodder Laurel, Smooth Cassytha.
Perennial climber, parasitic on nearby vegetation.
Twisting yellow green stems, 0.5mm diam.
Small, white, 3 petal flowers on short spikes, 5 to 7 mm long, Spring & Summer. Mucous sweet tasting fruits, elongated or pear shaped, green, yellow or sometimes red fruit, 2.5 to 3.5mm long.
Leaves are present as tiny scales.
Germinates by seed in the soil & then attaches to a nearby plant, the root will then die & then the plant lives by suckering on the host plant.
Seed is spread by wind, water & animal dung. Can germinate by fragments which will regrow, therefore do not slash infestations.
Widespread. QLD, NSW,VIC,SA & TAS.
Attracts butterflies especially the Western Dusky Blue Butterfly of the genus Candalides.