Giant dodder (Cuscuta reflexa)

Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
*Cuscuta reflexa*	July 07, 2026	Natore, Bangladesh

There are some strange plants around us in nature that do not have their own leaves, but they survive very beautifully by depending on other plants. This strange yet beautiful creeping plant captured on your camera is basically a parasite. It is mainly known as ‘giant dodder’ in English. It is also called ‘ulan ulan’ in different regions. The pictures you have taken show how a leafless vine has completely entwined another green plant like a web.

Scientific name and classification:
According to the scientific classification of botany, this parasitic vine has a specific scientific name. Its scientific name or binomial name is Cuscuta reflexa. The scientist Roxb. was the first to name it this way. This plant has two recognized varieties, which are Cuscuta reflexa var. brachystigma and Cuscuta reflexa var. reflexa.
According to the detailed classification of science, this plant belongs to the vascular plants or tracheophytes and flowering plants or angiosperms of the kingdom Plantae. It is a member of the order Solanales of the phylum Eudicots and Asterids.
Family and Genus:
Upon higher classification, it belongs to the family Convolvulaceae and its genus or genus name is Cuscuta. There are about 220 different species of plants under this genus Cuscuta in the world, of which giant dodder is one of the species.

Size and physical structure:
The physical structure of this plant is not at all like other common plants. It is basically a leafless, very narrow and sprawling thin vine-like plant. Your photos show very well that these vines look like thin yellow or yellowish-green threads. In the photos, it is seen that the rain or dew drops on them are shining like pearls, which looks very charming. When they hang down from the trunk or canopy of a large tree, they look like long garlands. These hanging garlands of vines can be up to 10 meters (33 feet) long. Their flowers are quite small and bell-shaped. The color of the flowers is white and the filaments inside are yellow.

Home and Habitat:
In terms of geographical distribution, this parasitic plant is spread over a large part of the Asian continent. It is mainly known as a very common plant in the Indian subcontinent and the Greater Himalayas. It also extends to southern countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Lifestyle and Parasitic Nature
Since this plant does not have its own leaves, it cannot make its own food. It is a completely parasitic plant species. It depends on another large tree or host plant for survival and it grows on those large trees. Your picture clearly shows how it has twisted and wrapped around the green leaves of the host tree. It collects the necessary elements for its survival from this host tree.

I hope you like the information.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

_{*(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.) *}
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Cuscuta reflexa)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Natore, Bangladesh