It is native to Eurasia and Africa, but it is also found in North America, where it is an introduced species and uncommon noxious weed.

It is a parasitic vine which climbs other plants and takes nutrition directly from them via a haustorium.

The dodder resembles a pile of light yellow to orange-red straw wrapped tightly around its host plant.

It bears clusters of tiny yellowish bell-shaped flowers which are only about 3 millimeters wide.

This species is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Cuscuta epithymum.