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Summary Cuscuta campestris, a stem parasitic plant, has served as a valuable model plant for the exploration of plant–plant interactions and molecular trafficking. However, a major barrier toC. campestrisresearch is that a method to generate stable transgenic plants has not yet been developed.Here, we describe the development of aCuscutatransformation protocol using various reporter genes (GFP, GUS, or RUBY) and morphogenic genes (CcWUS2andCcGRF/GIF), leading to a robust protocol forAgrobacterium‐mediatedC. campestristransformation.The stably transformed and regenerated RUBYC. campestrisplants produced haustoria, the signature organ of parasitic plants, and these were functional in forming host attachments. The locations of T‐DNA integration in the parasite genome were confirmed through TAIL‐PCR. TransformedC. campestrisalso produced flowers and viable transgenic seeds exhibiting betalain pigment, providing proof of germline transmission of the RUBY transgene. Furthermore, RUBY is not only a useful selectable marker for theAgrobacterium‐mediated transformation, but may also provide insight into the movement of molecules fromC. campestristo the host during parasitism.Thus, the protocol for transformation ofC. campestrisreported here overcomes a major obstacle toCuscutaresearch and opens new possibilities for studying parasitic plants and their interactions with hosts. 

Maple trees (genus Acer) accomplish the task of distributing objects to a wide area by producing seeds, known as samaras, which are carried by the wind as they autorotate and slowly descend to the ground. With the goal of supporting engineering applications, such as gathering environmental data over a broad area, we developed 3D-printed artificial samaras. Here, we compare the behavior of both natural and artificial samaras in both still-air laboratory experiments and wind dispersal experiments in the field. We show that the artificial samaras are able to replicate (within one standard deviation) the behavior of natural samaras in a lab setting. We further use the notion of windage to compare dispersal behavior, and show that the natural samara has the highest mean windage, corresponding to the longest flights during both high wind and low wind experimental trials. This study demonstrated a bioinspired design for the dispersed deployment of sensors and provides a better understanding of wind-dispersal of both natural and artificial samaras.