Dodder (Cuscuta epithymum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Cuscuta epithymum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (L.) L. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Assessed as VU in England (Stroh et al. 2014) due to a decline in AOO (distribution) of >30% in the 20th century. However, using the most recent distribution data, it's clear that the diminished distribution of C. epithymum appears to have stabilised (trend 1987-2019; -8%) so that it will not qualify as threatened or near threatened in the revised GB Red List (Stroh et al., in prep). As a LC species, there are other species with a higher priority for conservation action. The vast majority of locations for this species are in England, so it is highly probable that it would also now qualify as LC here too. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species is an annual parasite on a range of herbs. Both the Plant Atlas (Stroh et al., 2023) and Walker et al. (2017) showed a stabilisation in its distribution, albeit it is dependent on good grazing management at its extant locations. It is probable that a range of other threatened taxa will be present at sites where Cuscuta is also present, and so targeted (grazing) actions for these species will also benefit Cuscuta. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | It is possible that habitat management (reinstatement of an appropriate grazing regime, resulting in an increase in small hern cover) could lead to its establishment at other locations at a landscape scale. |
Species Assessment
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.