I received this link this morning on the Master Gardener website concerning a "dodder" infested oak tree. Apparently it's most prevalent in the Houston area, but has now been identified in Austin also....The host tree has to be cut down and disposed of, but the plant seeds prolifically and spreads in the right conditions. Has anyone seen this in their area?
http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/shared/article.asp?DocumentID=370&mc=urban
Something else to worry about......
Wow.. thanks for the link. I wouldn't want that in one of my trees. Looks like it is worse than kutzu
That looks scary, but why did the ownwers of those plants let it get that far?
Yikes!
I agree, Josephine, why on earth did people let it get that far? That looks really creepy!
Maybe people first see it as an ''interesting, little unusual, yellow vine.'' I've let plants grow in my front bed because they stayed green and the deer didn't eat them,....only to learn they were wild grapes or some horrible gourd vines that sprout up everywhere now. I just thought I should alert you that it's out there and it's spreading west. With a good wind, pieces could possibly break from the main plant and attach to a nearby tree in the canopy. By the time it was visible from the ground, it could be too late to save the tree. Same story with the seeds....
Apparently folks in Houston have been fighting it since 2001, so it's not a very recent problem there. Here's another link.....
http://www.galvbayinvasives.org/Guide/Species/CuscutaJaponica
Ugh! Looks like something in a horror movie. And with almost no leaves it would be hard to spot until it had become well established. We'll have to stay alert.........thanks for the warning.
Sorta reminds me of that sweet little ole widowed neighbor lady bringing me a pass-along plant a few years ago....clerodendrum bungei.....really beautiful. Now it pops up everywhere.....even in the lawn. 'Has now escaped our yard and surrounds the neighbor's pool. They like it....so far....