Asiatic elephant vs Clover Dodder

Elephas maximus compared with Cuscuta epithymum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asiatic elephant	Clover Dodder
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Magnoliophyta (被子植物門)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Magnoliopsida (モクレン綱)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Solanales (ナス目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Convolvulaceae
Genus	Elephas (Asian Elephants)	Cuscuta
Species	Elephas maximus	Cuscuta epithymum

Conservation Status

Asiatic elephant

EN — Endangered

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Clover Dodder

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asiatic elephant	Clover Dodder
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	60 years	—
Average Length	5.5 m	—
Average Weight	4.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asiatic elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Clover Dodder

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Asiatic elephant

アジアゾウ（Elephas maximus）はアフリカゾウに比べて小型で、インドから東南アジア・インドネシアに至る森林・草原に生息する。アフリカゾウより小さな耳・丸みのある背・鼻先の1本の指状突起などの形態的特徴を持ち、アジアの文化・宗教と深く結びついており、古来より使役動物・神事に用いられてきた。IUCNレッドリストでは絶滅危惧（EN）に分類されており、野生の個体数は5万頭を下回る。

Clover Dodder

Clover dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) is a parasitic flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, a leafless, twining vine that obtains all its water and nutrients from host plants via haustoria — specialized penetrating organs that connect to host vascular tissue. The species is almost entirely dependent on its hosts throughout its life, with only brief photosynthetic activity during germination before establishing parasitic connections. C. epithymum parasitizes a wide range of host species including clover (Trifolium), gorse (Ulex), heathers (Erica, Calluna), thyme (Thymus), and other plants in open heathland, grassland, and scrub habitats. The stems are thread-like, yellowish-pink or reddish, and support clusters of small white to pale pink flowers. Originally widespread across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Americas, the species has declined significantly in many parts of its range due to agricultural intensification, herbicide application, grassland conversion, and loss of semi-natural heathlands. It is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, reflecting population decline across its European core range. Conservation of C. epithymum requires the maintenance of unimproved, low-nutrient grasslands and heathlands that support its diverse host plant communities. The species is recorded from Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America, though populations in some regions represent introductions associated with contaminated legume seed lots.