This Spaghetti-Looking Parasite Is Taking Over The LA Mountains Right Now

I was on a bike ride up in the Santa Monica Mountains the other day when I saw something that I had no idea how to identify.

Large patches of native plants — buckwheat, laurel sumac, ceanothus — absolutely covered in what could be described as mats of spaghetti. Strands of bright orange and yellow spider-web-looking stuff woven between leaves still green from heavy winter rain.

After a bit of research, I learned that it’s a parasitic plant called a dodder, of which there are more than 170 types. And it's the perfect time of year to go looking for it along our trails.

The one up in our hills is likely Cuscuta californica, or California dodder, and not only does it provide stunning visuals, but its life cycle is fascinating.

In the spring, each parasitic plant sprouts from rock hard seeds that’ve been waiting for warm weather. Tons of tiny vines reach out and wrap around the stems and branches of host plants. Then, microscopic straws called haustoria emerge and penetrate deep inside the host’s tissue, so the dodder can suck up water and nutrients.

It’s known as an obligate parasite, meaning it relies on a host to survive.

The plant flourishes during the summer, putting out flowers and fruit before dying off by winter, dropping seeds that can stay viable for decades.

Dodders can grow so thick that they choke out host plants, especially Japanese dodder, which is a major problem in agriculture.

That said, Cuscuta californica is native to our ecosystem here and has long coexisted within diverse chaparral landscapes — no need to go and pull it out.

Its presence can be mitigated by wildfire, which may be why we can see so much of it in the Santa Monica Mountains near Topanga, which is where I was riding. We haven’t had a fire blow through much of that area for decades.

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Which reminds me: Fire season is right around the corner and it’s about time for you to prepare.