Cassytha (called love-vine in the Bahamas) bears an uncanny
resemblance to dodder (the genus Cuscuta) but is not related to
it at all! Cassytha is in Lauraceae, the same family as Sassafras,
avocado, and cinnamon whereas dodder is in Convolvulaceae and is
related to morning-glory vines. If one looks closely at the flowers,
love-vine is quite clearly a member of Lauraceae.
Photographs
Cassytha capillaris
Photo Peninsular
Botanical Garden Thung Kai, Prov. Trang, Peninsular Thailand, 50 m alt.
Photograph October 2005 by A. S. Fleischmann.
Photo showing
close-up of fruits with the conspicious fleshy rims. Location same as
above. Photograph October 2005 by A. S. Fleischmann.
Photo.
Habit of plant. Gibbie Creek, 50 km SW of Victoria River Downs in
Gregory National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Photo by Tony
from Sydney. Link goes to Flickr.
Cassytha ciliolata
Photo.
Habit of plant parasitic on Cliffortia
cuneata (Rosaceae). Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, South Africa.
Photo by Ernesto Sandoval. Link goes to Flickr.
Cassytha filiformis
Photo The
"love-vine" of Andros Island, Bahamas. The plant is used, along with
others, in love potions. My experience with tea made from the plant
indicates it has lots of caffeine, and tastes a bit like root beer to
boot!
Photo Habit,
clambering over the beach strand vegetation, Andros Island, Bahamas.
Photo
Extreme close-up of the flower showing the valvate anthers, typical of
the family Lauraceae. Photo by Greg Jordan.
Photo.
Habit of plant. Curra Moors Track, Royal National Park, south of
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Photo by Tony from Sydney. Link goes to Flickr.
Photo.
This plant has been referred to as C. paniculata or C.
paniculata var. phaeolasia. In his monograph of the
genus, Weber (1981) made these synonyms of C. pubescens. But
in the 2007 (vol. 2) issue of Flora of Australia, the name C.
pubescens
was retained. So maybe this is a different species? Middle Head, at
entrance to Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Photo by Tony
from Sydney. Link goes to Flickr.
Photo.
Showing pubescent fruits. Australia. Photo by Andrew Paget. Link goes to Flickr.
Cassytha sp.
Photo on
tree in Zimbabwe. Photo by L. J. Musselman.
Photo.
Stem of an unidentified species of Cassytha forming haustoria
on Xanthorrhoea.
Note the way the endophyte spreads within the host tissue! Berowra to
Cowan section, near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Photo by David
Midgley. Link goes to Flickr.
Phylogeny
Although sometimes classified within its own family (Cassythaceae),
this parasitic vine is universally recognized as monophyletic and
residing within Laurales, Lauraceae. This postion within
Lauraceae is supported by floral morphology and molecular data. Its
superficial resemblance to Cuscuta is remarkable and
an excellent example of convergent evolution. As shown in the molecular
phylogenetic study by Rohwer and Rudolph (2005), Cassytha is nested among woody
Lauraceae as the sister group to a clade including all genera except Hypodaphnis and the Cryptocarya group . To there
appears to be no molecular phylogenetic study of Cassytha species.
