Plants of the genus Cuscuta have colorful folk names, such as wizard’s net, devil’s guts, strangle tare or witch’s hair. They are leaf- and rootless parasites and grow on their host plants without ...

Some flowers release a pleasing fragrance. Other plants smell. And then there's the parasitic dodder vine, which has the remarkable ability to sniff out its victims. Farmers have placed the dodder - ...

Ever heard of a dodder vine? I hadn’t – until I read “What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses” by Daniel Chamovitz. Turns out this widespread vine, all gawky and gangly, has what you might ...

Dodder is a fairly common native leafless parasitic vine. This fast-growing slender vine sprouts from a small seed and must quickly climb into or onto a host plant. If it does not reach into a host ...

Q: There is something growing around my petunias. Can you tell me what it is and how to get rid of it? A: Thanks, Fred, for bringing in photos of the problem weed. What's growing around your petunias ...

Plants, of course, don't have noses. But there is a vine that can smell the difference between a tomato and a stalk of wheat. "Plants smell," says botanist Daniel Chamovitz. Yes, they give off odors, ...

Q: I have a vitex bush that I purchased from a local nursery about a year ago. It keeps getting covered with a vine that doesn’t have any leaves. Branches are dying; it is as if it is strangling the ...