Giant dodder (Cuscuta reflexa)

Giant dodder, Cuscuta reflexa, is the leafless, yellow, spaghetti-like parasite that smothers hedges and trees across India, known as amar bel, the “immortal vine”. It has no roots once it is established and no green leaves. It lives entirely on the plants it wraps around, and it is a serious pest of hedges and orchards.

Botanical name: Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.
Family: Convolvulaceae
Tamil: Kodiyagundal
Hindi: Amar bel
Parts used: None as food
Habit: Parasitic twiner; not a kitchen leaf
Last updated: 2026-10-25

How to recognise Giant dodder

The stems are thick for a dodder, yellow to orange-yellow, often with reddish spots, twining tightly around the host.

Small white, fragrant, bell-shaped flowers grow in clusters along the stems in the cool season.

It sends little suckers, called haustoria, into the host’s stem to tap its water and food. A seedling has a root for a few days, then loses it once it attaches.

Love vine, Cassytha filiformis, is a thinner, greenish, laurel-family look-alike.

Traditional use of Giant dodder

Folk practice

Amar bel is boiled into hair oils and used in folk preparations in north India. The name reflects how impossible it seems to kill.

North Indian folk practice

Modern notes on Giant dodder

Plant scientists study dodder because it exchanges genetic material and signals with its hosts, a remarkable kind of plant-to-plant communication.

Laboratory extract studies exist, but there is no clinical evidence for the folk uses.

Giant dodder safety

Do not eat it or drink preparations of it. Its chemistry depends partly on the host it grew on.

Ecology and sourcing

It grows across South and Southeast Asia, on a wide range of trees and shrubs. Hedge plants such as duranta and many fruit trees are common hosts.

Pieces of stem regrow, so it spreads when hedge trimmings are thrown onto other plants. Cutting out infested host branches is the only reliable control.

Related plants

Also in Convolvulaceae

Questions about Giant dodder

How does Giant dodder live without leaves?

It taps the host plant’s stems for water and food.

Is Giant dodder the same as love vine?

No. Love vine is Cassytha filiformis, a laurel-family look-alike.

How do I get rid of Giant dodder?

Cut off and destroy infested host branches; pulling it off rarely works.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.