Cassytha racemosa
Common name: Dodder Laurel
Cassytha is from the Greek word casytas, meaning dodder. Racemosa is from the Latin word racemose, referring to the flowers being in a raceme.
Occurs mainly in the south west of Western Australia.
A twining, parasitic herb that can grow many metres high on its host. The white, green or yellow flowers can be produced in any month of the year.
This species is an aerial parasitic vine. It germinates in the soil but, when it finds a host on which to attach, severs its root system and lives entirely in the branches of the host.
Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings, a Glossary. FA Sharr. 1996.
Flora of the Perth Region. NG Marchant, JR Wheeler, BL Rye, EM Bennett, NS Lander, TD Macfarlane. 1987.
Perth Plants, a field guide to the bushland and coastal flora of Kings Park and Bold Park, Perth, Western Australia. Russell Barrett and Eng Pin Tay. 2005.
Atlas of Living Australia https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2906672#overview
Florabase https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/2957