Cuscuta dodder-an invasive weed native to North America, is slowly choking the Chengalpattu forests and Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu), threatening the local vegetation, ecology and habitat of migratory birds.
- Cuscuta dodder is a parasitic vine without roots.
- It has already infested acres of trees in the reserve forests and has begun to spread inside India’s oldest bird sanctuary.
- The plant has covered the canopy of Barringtonia trees, which are preferred by migratory water birds for nesting.
- This holoparasitic plant builds a canopy on the host plant and casts thousands of tendrils to form a dense spectacle before it strangles and eventually kills it.
