Cuscuta gronovii
This alien-looking creature is the plant version of a vampire. This is Dodder (Cuscuta gronovii) and you may have seen it and wondered what it was: It looks like someone threw a pot of spaghetti out in the woods.
It is a parasitic plant that senses the proximity of a suitable host through chemicals and will grow toward and wind around them in a process called chemotaxis. Those things that look like "teeth" on this section of vine are developing haustoria, with which is will attach to the host and eventually tap into its veins to draw water and nutrients. It can do significant damage in agricultural settings and is considered a noxious weed where it attacks commercially valuable plants.
Cuscuta gronovii
This alien-looking creature is the plant version of a vampire. This is Dodder (Cuscuta gronovii) and you may have seen it and wondered what it was: It looks like someone threw a pot of spaghetti out in the woods.
It is a parasitic plant that senses the proximity of a suitable host through chemicals and will grow toward and wind around them in a process called chemotaxis. Those things that look like "teeth" on this section of vine are developing haustoria, with which is will attach to the host and eventually tap into its veins to draw water and nutrients. It can do significant damage in agricultural settings and is considered a noxious weed where it attacks commercially valuable plants.