Parasitic plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parasitic plants, comprising around 4,500 species, are known from about 20 different families. They are distributed across virtually the entire planet, but lacking in Antarctica. Almost all species have sucking organs, named haustoria, which are modified roots that penetrate the host plant, extracting water and nutrients from it.

Below, the parasitic plants I have encountered around the world are presented in alphabetical order, according to family, genus, and species.

 

 

 

The generic name stems from the inflorescence of some members of this genus, which is covered by bumps, resembling barnacles (family Balanidae).

 

The specific name is from the Latin, meaning ‘having male and female reproductive organs on separate plants’, ultimately from Ancient Greek dis (‘twice’) and oikos (‘house’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are distributed almost worldwide, with the greatest concentration in the tropics and subtropics. Temperate areas have much fewer species, including northern Europe, where only 4 species are native. In hot climates, dodders are perennials, growing more or less continuously, while in colder areas they are annuals.

These plants twine around other plants, often completely enveloping them in their yellow or reddish stems. A dodder seed starts its life like most other seeds by sending roots into the soil, from which grow stems, whose leaves are reduced to scales. When a stem gets into contact with a suitable plant, it wraps itself around it, inserting haustoria into the plant, through which the dodder obtains water and nutrients. Its root in the ground then dies.

Their strange appearance taken into consideration, it is hardly surprising that dodders have many folk names, including strangleweed, scaldweed, beggarweed, lady’s laces, wizard’s net, devil’s guts, devil’s hair, devil’s ringlet, goldthread, hailweed, hairweed, hellbine, pull-down, angel’s hair, and witch’s hair.

The generic name is derived from the Arabic name of dodders, kusuta, or kuskut, which, in the form Cuscuta, was applied to them by Rufinus, an Italian monk and botanist, who was the author of De virtutibus herbarum, completed c. 1287, which listed nearly a thousand medicinal materials, mostly plants.

 

 

Stems yellow, sometimes several metres long, flowers in compact clusters, white, very short-stalked, bell-shaped, to 2.5 mm long, corolla with 5 broadly elliptic lobes with rounded tips.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘southern’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stems are yellow or orange, with dense clusters of flowers, to 5 mm long, corolla white or cream-coloured, with 5 triangular or lanceolate lobes, calyx yellow, almost as long as corolla.

 

 

 

 

 

Lesser dodder parasitizes a wide range of other plants, maybe up to 400 species, including species of thyme (Thymus), reflected in the specific name, which is composed of Ancient Greek epi (‘growing on’), and Thymus.

 

 

 

 

 

It is very widely distributed, found in temperate areas of Europe and Asia, eastwards to south-eastern Siberia and Japan, southwards to Morocco, Iran, the Himalaya, and China. It is occasionally encountered in North and South America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is widely distributed, found from Afghanistan across the Indian Subcontinent and southern Tibet to southern China, southwards to Sri Lanka and Indochina, with an isolated occurrence on Java. Due to its vigorous growth, it is regarded as a serious pest in many places, including Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, northern India.

In Indian folk medicine, the juice is used for treatment of jaundice, a warm paste of the plant for rheumatism and headache. It is also used for urination disorders, muscle pain, and cough, and as a blood purifier. The seeds are used against flatulence, intestinal worms, and liver disorders.

In Nepal, juice from the plant is taken for jaundice, stomach ache, headache, rheumatism, and other ailments. Ash from the burned plant is applied to wounds.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bent backwards’, alluding to the petal lobes. In Hindi, the plant is called amar bel (‘immortal vine’), presumably either referring to its vigorous growth, or to its healing properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is holoparasitic, living the major part of its life underground, where its rhizome is attached to the roots of various shrubs of the rockrose family (Cistaceae), the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), the tamarisk family (Tamaricaceae), or the family Nitrariaceae. The fleshy top of the rhizome emerges in spring, with scale-like leaves, and a peculiar, erect, club-shaped, dark-red or purplish inflorescence, to 30 cm long, with numerous diminutive scarlet flowers, which are pollinated by flies, attracted by their sweet, slightly cabbage-like fragrance. The fruit is a small nut.

This species is distributed from the Mediterranean region eastwards across Arabia, the Middle East, and Central Asia to Mongolia and north-eastern China. It is quite rare, growing in rocky or sandy soils, in the Mediterranean area often near the coast.

It has been widely used in folk medicine throughout the distribution area. To some early herbalists, following the Doctrine of Signatures, the phallic shape of the inflorescence suggested that it could be used as a cure for impotence and other sexual problems, and its colour suggested that it could cure blood diseases. In Chinese medicine, it is used to treat kidney dysfunction.

Popular names include desert thumb and red thumb, and the name Maltese fungus was given due to its fungus-like appearance.

The generic name was the classical Latin term for broomrapes (Orobanche, see below), whereas it in the form kynomorion was the classical Greek word for dodders (Cuscuta, see above). The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘scarlet-coloured’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was the classical Greek term for C. hypocistis, which was formerly used in herbal medicine for dysentery, throat tumors, and as an astringent. Young specimens of this plant may be eaten as a substitute for asparagus.

 

Young plants are edible, and the species has been used in folk medicine for uterus and menstruation problems.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘red’, alluding to the main colour of the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The red-and-white-striped flower stalk, which may sometimes grow to about 50 cm tall, has scale-like leaves. The inflorescence is a spike-like, terminal raceme with erect, white bracts, to 3 cm long. Sepals are usually missing, but 2-4 may sometimes be present, corolla cup-shaped, with 5 white, concave petals, stamens 10, maroon, protruding. The fruit is a capsule. The flower stalk remains standing long after the seeds have been dispersed, turning brown.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek allos (‘different’) and tropos (‘to turn’), alluding to the often upturned flowers. The specific name is derived from the Latin virga (‘staff’), referring to the straight flower stalk.

The popular names candystick, sugarstick, and barber’s pole all refer to its peculiar red-and-white-striped appearance, the latter name alluding to the poles with a helix of red and white stripes (in America also often blue), which used to signify a barber’s shop.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek monos (‘single’) and tropos (‘to turn’), referring to the flowers of pinesap (below), which all point in the same direction.

 

A fleshy plant, to 35 cm tall. The only parts to emerge from the soil are the yellowish-white inflorescences, sometimes tinged with red, bracts scale-like, to 1 cm long, covering most of the flowers. The inflorescence is a raceme with up to 11 flowers, each to 1.2 cm long, all pointing in the same direction. They are pendulous when young, becoming erect when the seeds ripen.

There is some controversy regarding the specific name of this plant. Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) spelled the name hypopithys. In Ancient Greek, hypo means ‘under’, whereas Pithys was the name of a wood nymph in Greek mythology, thus ‘under the nymph’. Linnaeus was known to be sometimes a bit of a prankster. Was he referring to the tangled root, which may resemble the tangled pubic hairs of a woman? Or did he simply misspell the name? Modern taxonomists spell the name hypopitys (without an h), where pitys (‘pine’) refers to one of the habitats of this species, as it often grows in dark pine forests.

The name yellow bird’s-nest alludes to the yellowish flowers and to the thick, tangled root, which somewhat resembles a bird’s nest. Naturally, the name Dutchman’s pipe refers to the flower shape.

Following recent genetic research, some scientists suggest that this species should be placed in a separate genus, named Hypopitys monotropa. (Source: M.I. Bidartondo & T.D. Bruns 2001. Extreme specificity in epiparasitic Monotropoidiae (Ericaceae): widespread phylogenetic and geographical structure. Molecular Ecology)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to North and Central America, southwards to Columbia, and in eastern Asia, from the Himalaya eastwards to Sakhalin and Japan, and thence southwards to southern China and Taiwan. It grows in forests, being parasitic on mycorrhiza of the family Russulaceae.

This plant has been widely used in western herbal medicine to calm the nerves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In his book The Yosemite (1912), Scottish-American writer and environmentalist John Muir (1838-1914) writes the following about this species: “The snow plant (…) is more admired by tourists than any other in California. It is red, fleshy, and watery and looks like a gigantic asparagus shoot. Soon after the snow is off the ground, it rises through the dead needles and humus in the pine and fir woods like a bright glowing pillar of fire. (…) It is said to grow up through the snow; on the contrary, it always waits until the ground is warm, though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried or half-buried for a day or two by spring storms. (…) Nevertheless, it is a singularly cold and unsympathetic plant. Everybody admires it as a wonderful curiosity, but nobody loves it as lilies, violets, roses, daisies are loved. Without fragrance, it stands beneath the pines and firs, lonely and silent, as if unacquainted with any other plant in the world; never moving in the wildest storms; rigid as if lifeless, though covered with beautiful rosy flowers.”

American botanist, chemist, and physician John Torrey (1796-1873) found the colour of this plant so striking that he named it Sarcodes sanguinea, from Ancient Greek sarkos (‘flesh’) and the Latin sanguis (‘blood’), thus ‘the blood-coloured, fleshy one’. The common name refers to the early flowering of this species, which often appears, when snow is still partly covering the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

As the family name implies, many species have beautiful, often brightly coloured flowers. The fruit is a berry, rarely a drupe or capsule. As in Santalaceae (below), the seeds are surrounded by a sticky substance, being spread by birds or, rarely, by small mammals.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek agele (‘a group’) and anthos (‘flower’), alluding to the dense flower clusters in these plants.

 

It is a bush with branches to 1 m long, leaves leathery, green or bluish-green, alternate, short-stalked, oblong, obovate, or elliptic, to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide, with 3-5 nerves. The remarkable flowers look like tiny pencils, clustered in the leaf axils, calyx tubular, to 5 mm long, corolla tubular, to 4.5 cm long, bright pink, with a narrow white or greenish constriction above, tip initially red, later white.

The specific name means ‘with leaves like Ziziphus‘, a genus of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek onkos (‘a bulb’ or ‘a swollen mass’) and kalyx (‘husk’), presumably referring to the flowers of these plants, which are swollen at the base.

 

A smooth plant, leaves alternate, clustered on short shoots, sessile, leathery, bluish-green, to 5 cm long and 3 cm wide, oblong, obovate, or elliptic, tip blunt or rounded, with a pair of lateral nerves. Flowers are solitary or up to 4 together in sessile, terminal umbels on short shoots, calyx tubular, to 6 mm long, with short lobes, corolla to 3.5 cm long, yellow or greenish-yellow, rarely red and yellow, tube to 1.5 cm long, swollen at the base, lobes extremely long, initially erect, later strongly reflexed. The fruit is an ovoid berry, to 7 mm long and 4 mm wide.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin plicatus (‘folded’), referring to the folds on the inner surface of the lower part of the sepals.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is widely distributed, from southern Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula southwards to eastern Zaire and Tanzania, primarily found in deserts or dry shrubland.

It is utilized in folk medicine to treat various diseases, including cancer, tonsillitis, and diabetes.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having curved flowers’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek psittakos (‘parrot’) and anthos (‘flower’), presumably referring to the gorgeous flower colours.

 

Branches many, to 1 m long, leaves short-stalked, elliptic, dull green, to 8 cm long and 4 cm wide, tip blunt, base continuing down the stalk. The inflorescences are dense clusters at the nodes, corolla tube swollen at the base, to 4 cm long, tapering towards the tip, red or orange on more than half of the length, yellow near the tip, flower stalk forming a cup-like structure at the base of the corolla. The fruit is a fleshy, bluish-black berry.

The specific name is derived from the Latin ramus (‘branch’) and flos (‘flower’), referring to the branched inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name may be derived from the Latin scurra (‘dandy’ or ‘jester’), perhaps alluding to the brightly coloured flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

This Himalayan plant is found from Himachal Pradesh, north-western India, eastwards to south-eastern Tibet, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 m. It is common in Nepal.

Ripe fruits are edible and sweet, and seeds can be chewed. A gluey substance was formerly extracted from the fruits and used as birdlime.

The specific name is Latin, having many meanings, here probably ‘lofty’, referring to its epiphytic way of growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name may be derived from Ancient Greek tapein (‘flattened’) and anthos (‘flower’), perhaps alluding to the straight flowers.

Some species, which were formerly placed in this genus, have been moved to other genera, including Agelanthus (above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek a (‘without’) and phyllon (‘leaf’), alluding to the fact that this plant has no leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers are red or yellow, in dense clusters, and the leaves are fleshy, broadly ovate. The fruit is yellow or green at maturity.

The specific name is derived from the Latin corymbus (‘flower cluster’) and‎ osus (‘numerous’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek misos (‘hatred’) and dendron (‘tree’), thus ‘hates trees’, referring to the parasitic habits of this genus. The common name refers to the feathery look of some species, especially M. linearifolium (below).

 

It is distributed in central and southern Chile and south-western Argentina, southwards to Tierra del Fuego, found up to elevations around 300 m.

Previously, it was used medicinally, rubbed on sore muscles.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is native to the southern half of Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina, growing up to elevations of about 2,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years, aerial roots of the young strangler fig grow down to the ground, where they take root, while other roots wrap themselves around the host tree, over time completely enveloping the tree, which is eventually strangled to death. As the trunk of the host tree decays, it leaves the fig tree as a hollow cylinder of aerial roots. Many strangler figs also readily grow on buildings.

Only 2 species are mentioned here. A large number of fig trees, including several strangler figs, are described on the page Plants: Fig trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in montane evergreen forest at elevations between 700 and 1,600 m, from southern Kenya and eastern Zaire southwards through Tanzania, eastern Zimbabwe, and Malawi to Mozambique.

The specific name means ‘found in the Chirinda Forest’, a forest in eastern Zimbabwe. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Indochina, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea to eastern Australia and many islands in the Pacific.

The fruits are edible and constitute as a major food source in Micronesia and Polynesia. Medicinally, a decoction of the leaves is used as a dressing for broken bones. Ropes are made from fibres of the bark.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘to dye’, alluding to the traditional usage of root and fruits to produce red and scarlet dyes.

 

 

 

 

 

The flower structure of this family is unique. There are 3 sepals, often coloured and shaped like 2 of the 3 petals. The third petal forms the lower lip, usually differering very much from the other petals in size and shape, and sometimes in colour, often with a spur. Stamens and ovary are fused, forming the so-called column. Anthers and stigma are separated by a beak-like structure, the rostellum. The anthers produce so-called pollinia, small ‘bags’ which contain pollen. These pollinia easily stick to visiting insects by a sticky secrete, and the insects then transport them to the next flower where they get attached to the stigma. Other species are self-pollinating. The fruit is a capsule, containing countless tiny seeds, spread by the wind.

Most of these plants live in symbiosis with the mycelium of underground fungi, which is attached to the rhizome or root of the plants. When an orchid seed is about to germinate, it is completely dependent on this mycelium, as it has virtually no energy reserve, obtaining the necessary carbon from the fungus. Many orchids are dependent on the mycelium their entire life, but their relationship is symbiotic, as the orchid delivers crucial water and salts to the fungus. A few orchids, however, are parasitic on the fungus, as they do not possess chlorophyll, thus being unable to deliver nutrients to the fungus.

 

The generic and popular names allude to the entangled rhizomes of these plants, which resemble corals.

 

Flowering stalk to 60 cm tall, yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, or reddish-purple, leaves reduced to yellowish, reddish, or dark purple sheaths. The inflorescence is a raceme with up to 40 flowers. The 3 sepals and 2 lateral petals are lanceolate, to 1.5 cm long, spreading or pointing forward, reddish, purplish, or yellowish-green, often with purple dots, lip obovate or elliptic, white with reddish-purple spots, to 9 mm long and 6 mm wide, with 2 tiny lateral lobes at the base. The column is pale yellow, with purple dots. Occasionally, plants with completely white or yellow flowers are encountered.

Dance-flies of the genus Empis have been reported as pollinators of this species.

Previously, several indigenous tribes made a decoction of the dried flower stalks to treat colds, pneumonia, and skin problems.

This plant is mentioned in a poem by American poet Robert Frost (see top of this page).

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spotted’, alluding to the many purple spots on the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

Flowering stalk to 65 cm tall, lavender-purple or reddish-purple, rarely yellow, leaves reduced to pale red, lavender-purple, or reddish-purple sheaths. The inflorescence is a raceme with up to 35 flowers. The sepals are reddish-purple, sometimes yellowish, lanceolate, to 1.2 cm long, the dorsal one and 2 petals arching over the column, nearly touching it. The 2 lateral sepals are widely spreading. Lip reddish-purple, white, or white with purple streaks or spots, to 1 cm long and 5 mm wide, usually with 2 tiny teeth on the margin. The column is pale yellow on the upper half, purplish or whitish near the base, curved.

The specific name was given in honour of German botanist Franz Carl Mertens (1764-1831), who undertook several scientific expeditions throughout Europe. He also published the third edition of Deutschlands flora, a five volume treatise on German flora, written by German botanist Johann Christoph Röhling (1757-1813).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘bird’s nest’, alluding to the appearance of the tangled roots of N. nidus-avis (below).

 

It is very easily identified by its brownish stem and flowers, entirely devoid of chlorophyll. The stem is to 40 cm, rarely 60 cm tall, with a terminal spike of up to 60 flowers. To germinate, the seeds are completely dependent on various species of fungi of the genus Sebacina.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bird’s nest’, which, as the popular name, alludes to the thick, tangled root, which somewhat resembles a bird’s nest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Paulus Aegineta (c. 625-690), in English Paul of Aegina, a Byzantine, Greek-born physician, who wrote a medical encyclopedia in 7 volumes.

 

It is widely distributed, found from the Indian state of Uttarakhand eastwards to Korea and Japan, southwards to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and New Guinea. In the Himalaya, it may be found up to elevations around 1,800 m.

In Nepal, root and flowers are used for treating infections and skin problems, in China for clearing away heat and toxins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named in honour of a Prussian botanist, Johann Bartsch (1709-1738) of Königsberg. The famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) urged him to participate in an expedition to present-day Suriname as a physician, but, unfortunately, he perished during this journey.

The plant was first named by Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin, also known as Casparus Bauhinus (1560-1624), as Teucrium alpinum coma pupureocoerulea (‘Alpine hairy purplish-blue germander’). In his outstanding work Phytopinax (1596), this brilliant scientist described thousands of plant species in a form, which almost equals the binominal nomenclature, introduced by Linnaeus in 1753.

Alpine bartsia is easily identified by its dark purple inflorescence, an adaptation to repel harmful UV-radiation. It is a prostrate plant, often branched from below, stems erect or ascending, hairy, to 30 cm tall. Leaves opposite, ovate, very hairy, to 2.5 cm long, toothed along the margin. The lower leaves are green, those above are tinged with purple. The dark purple corolla is narrow at the base, to about 2 cm long, 2-lipped, a hood-like upper lip and a shorter lower one with 3 blunt lobes.

This plant is distributed in subarctic areas, from Scandinavia eastwards to central Siberia, and also in Iceland, Greenland, and north-eastern Canada. In southern Europe, it is restricted to mountains, found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, mountains of eastern Europe, and on the Balkans. Populations in the Black Forest and the Vosges, and on the Swedish island of Gotland, are regarded as ice-age relics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stem erect, usually simple, to 70 cm tall, glandular-hairy above, leaves glandular-hairy, linear or oblong, to 9 cm long, sessile, margin strongly toothed or pinnately divided. The inflorescence is terminal, bracts leaf-like, heart-shaped, pointed, longer than the calyx, which is to 1.2 cm long, upper lip of corolla pink or purple, smaller than the lower lip, which is white or yellow, 3-lobed, to 2.3 cm long, tube to 1.7 cm long.

The generic name was given in honour of Italian physician and botanist Carlo Antonio Lodovico Bellardi (1741-1826), professor at the University of Turin.

The meaning of the specific name is obscure. It may stem from Ancient Greek thrix (‘hair’), alluding to the plant being glandular-hairy, or from Ancient Greek trixos (‘triple’), referring to the lower lip having 3 lobes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are native to the western parts of the Americas, from Alaska southwards to the Andes, with one species, C. pallida, distributed across Siberia, westwards to the Kola Peninsula, and southwards to the Altai Mountains.

The flowers of some species are edible and were formerly consumed by various native tribes, but as these plants tend to absorb and concentrate selenium in their tissue, roots and green parts can be very toxic.

The generic name was given in honour of Spanish surgeon and professor of botany Domingo Castillejo Muñoz (1744-1793).

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is native to the Pacific States, from Washington southwards to Baja California, growing on slopes along the coast, and also a little inland.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘related to’, presumably referring to another member of the genus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek khroma (‘colour’), thus ‘(strongly) coloured’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to California, Arizona, New Mexico, and north-western Mexico.

In former days, indigenous peoples of California harvested the seeds for food.

This species is crucial as a host plant for a threatened subspecies of the Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha ssp. bayensis), of the family Nymphalidae, which is endemic to the San Francisco Bay area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is restricted to Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘undivided’, alluding to the entire leaves (as opposed to most other members of the genus, which have strongly lobed leaves).

 

 

 

 

 

A widely distributed plant, found from California eastwards across Arizona and New Mexico to Texas, growing in rocky areas and shrubberies.

The specific name is derived from the Latin lana (‘wool’), alluding to the woolly hairs covering stem and leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two species, C. deserticola and C. salsa, in Chinese 肉苁蓉 (rou cong rong), constitute an important ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine. The former is grossly over-collected and has become rare, partly due to loss of its host, Haloxylon ammodendron, which is widely used for firewood. (Source: urbol.com/cistanche-tubulosa-and-deserticola)

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kistos (‘rockrose’) and ankhein (‘to strangle’), referring to some species being parasitic on rockroses, genus Cistus.

 

It is native to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, northern Africa, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Syria, and Cyprus.

The plant may be eaten similar to asparagus. It is used medicinally in Somalia for diarrhoea and menstrual disorders.

The specific name was given in honour of French politician Louis Phélypeaux (1643-1727), Marquis of Phélypeaux (1667), Count of Maurepas (1687), and Count of Pontchartrain (1699).

 

 

 

 

 

As its popular name implies, this species is found in deserts, from northern and eastern Africa eastwards to India and Kazakhstan. Favourite hosts include bushes of the genera Salvadora, Haloxylon, Zygophyllum, and Cornulaca.

In Chinese medicine, it is sometimes used as a substitute for C. deserticola.

The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin tubus (‘pipe’ or ‘tube’) and‎ osus (‘numerous’), alluding to the numerous tubular flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic is derived from Ancient Greek konos (‘cone’) and pholis (‘scale’), presumably referring to the general appearance of the plant when in fruit.

 

The entire plant is bright yellow, yellowish-white, or cream-coloured, stem occasionally to 33 cm tall, but usually much lower, bracts triangular or narrowly lanceolate, to 2.2 cm long and 9 mm wide, often brown-tipped, glandular-hairy, corolla tubular, to 2 cm long, 2-lipped.

A variety of this species, var. mexicana, called Mexican squawroot, is parasitic on roots of various species of pine (Pinus) and oak (Quercus). It was formerly used by indigenous tribes against tuberculosis.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kyknos (‘swan’), probably likening the slender, elongated corolla tube to a swan’s neck.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in the major part of Africa south of the Sahara, and also on Madagascar, growing from the lowlands up to elevations around 1,600 m.

The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin tubus (‘pipe’ or ‘tube’) and‎ osus (‘numerous’), alluding to the tubular flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

In her book Nature’s Garden: An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors (1900), American historian and nature writer Neltje Blanchan de Graff Doubleday (1865-1918) gives this characteristic of beech-drops: “Nearly related to the broom-rape is this less attractive pirate, a taller, brownish-purple plant, with a disagreeable odor, whose erect, branching stem without leaves is still furnished with brownish scales, the remains of what were once green leaves in virtuous ancestors, no doubt. But perhaps even these relics of honesty may one day disappear.”

It produces many brown stems, to 30 cm tall, bearing small, white and purple flowers.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek epi (‘on’) and the Latin Fagus, the generic name of beeches, alluding to the plant being parasitic on roots of American beech (Fagus grandifolia). The specific name refers to the state of Virginia. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Euphrosyne (’gladness’), the name of one of the three graces of Ancient Greece, who was known for her joy and mirth. The name was probably given to the plants because of their properties as medical herbs.

The usage of eyebright for eye problems goes back to medieval Europe. Followers of the Doctrine of Signatures claimed that the Great God had made all plants, so that humans would recognize the usage of them. To them, the red streaks on the petals of eyebright resembled bloodshot eyes, and for this reason, these plants would be an effective remedy for eye diseases.

Matthaeus Sylvaticus (1285-1342), a physician of Mantua, recommended them for disorders of the eyes, whereas Jervis Markham (1568?-1637), in his Countrie Farm (1616), advises people to “drinke everie morning a small draught of eyebright wine.” In the 18th Century, eyebright tea was drunk, and in Queen Elizabeth’s time a drink called ‘eyebright ale’ was produced.

English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612) says that powdered eyebright, mixed with mace, “comforteth the memorie,” and another herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654), recommends the following recipe for “an excellent water to clear the sight: Take of fennel, eyebright, roses, celandine, vervain, and rue, of each a handful, the liver of a goat chopt small, infuse them well in eyebright water, then distil them in an alembic, and you shall have a water will clear the sight beyond comparison.”

For once, the followers of the Doctrine of Signatures hit the nail on the head, as these plants are still recommended for conjunctivitis (‘red eyes’), infection of the eyelid, and discharge from the eyes. They are also used for indigestion, and for inflammation of the trachea. The dried herb is an ingredient in British Herbal Tobacco, which, when smoked, is useful for treatment of chronic bronchial colds.

A popular French name of these plants is casse-lunettes, which loosely translates as ‘throw away your glasses’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stem to 3 m tall, rough, leaves ovate, to 4 cm long and 1.6 cm wide, blunt or pointed, margin entire, flowers stalked, calyx to 1.3 cm long, divided about halfway into triangular lobes, corolla to 4 cm long, pink, purple, or rose-coloured, broadly bell-shaped, widened towards the mouth, with 5 reflexed lobes.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘showy’.

 

 

 

 

 

The part above ground is a very compact cone-shaped cluster of flowers, which gave rise to the popular name. The flower colour may be yellow, red, brown, or purple.

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘resembling Kopsia‘. This does not relate to the modern genus Kopsia, which includes showy members of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), but to Orobanche ramosa (see below), which was originally named Kopsia ramosa. This name was given in honour of a Dutchman, Jan Kops (1765-1849), who worked as priest, botanist, agronomist, professor, and publisher. It seems that he was an extremely busy man, having 11 children with his first wife and 6 with his second.

 

The part visible above ground is a flower stalk, to 16 cm tall, with scale-like leaves, to 1.2 cm long. The inflorescence is a cone-shaped, very dense raceme, to 7 cm long, with large erect bracts, to 1 cm long and broad, corolla reddish, pink, purplish, brownish, pale yellow, or whitish, to 1.5 cm long, upper and lower lips to 4 mm long.

In former days, coastal tribes ate the base of the flower stalk raw.

The specific name honours British botanist William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), who became the first director of the famous Kew Gardens in London in 1841. Here, he founded the herbarium and enlarged the gardens and the arboretum.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek lathraios (’clandestine’), alluding to the fact that the entire plant is hidden underground, except when it is flowering. Its whitish underground stem is covered in thick, fleshy leaves with rows of tooth-like scales, giving rise to the popular name of the genus.

 

Flowering stem erect, to 30 cm tall, juicy, smooth, glandular-hairy, white or yellowish below, pinkish above, leaves scaly, fleshy, ovate or rhombic, to 1 cm long and 8 mm wide, bracts broad, leaf-like, inflorescence a one-sided spike, calyx bell-shaped, pink, to 1.2 cm long, glandular-hairy, corolla tubular, to 1.7 cm long, with 2 lips, upper pink, entire, boat-shaped, with keel, lower 3-lobed, whitish.

It is parasitic on roots of hazel (Corylus), occasionally on elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus), alder (Alnus), walnut (Juglans), and beech (Fagus).

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘scaly’, referring to the scale-like subterranean leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek melas (‘black’) and pyros (‘wheat’), alluding to the black seeds, which somewhat resemble wheat grains. An ancient belief has it that the seeds, when mixed with wheat and ground into flour, tend to make the bread black. In the Middle Ages, it was also believed that the seeds were capable of being converted into wheat, supposedly because of the sudden appearance of these plants among wheat, planted on recently cleared land. Cows and sheep readily eat these plants, hence the name cow-wheat. (Source: M. Grieve 1931. A Modern Herbal. Jonathan Cape)

In his Cruydeboeck (‘Herbal Book’), Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens (1517-1585) tells us that “the seeds of this herb taken in meate or drinke troubleth the braynes, causing headache and drunkennesse.”

 

This species is distributed almost throughout Europe, southwards to the Mediterranean, eastwards to the Ural Mountains and Kazakhstan. In Central Asia, it grows in grasslands.

The specific name is derived from the Latin arvus (‘cultivated’), thus ‘growing in cultivated fields’. Previously, it was a troublesome weed in corn fields, as its seeds contain the toxic aucubin. Today, however, it has become rare due to more effective treatment of crop seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presumably, the specific name refers to the upper bracts, the edge of which resemble a cock’s crest.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem to 40 cm tall, branched, soft-haired, leaves opposite, short-stalked, lanceolate or ovate, upper ones toothed at the base. The lower flowers are in pairs from the leaf axils, upper ones in a one-sided, terminal spike, surrounded by crowded bracts, purplish-blue or violet, rarely yellowish-white, sepals fused, calyx bell-shaped, woolly-hairy, 4-lobed, corolla to 2 cm long, bright yellow, tubular, curved, 2-lipped, upper lip hooded, lower 3-lobed.

The specific name means ‘growing in woods’, originally derived from Ancient Greek nemos (‘a clearing in the forest’). Popular names include the Swedish natt-och-dag (‘night-and-day’) and the Russian Ivan-da-Marya (‘Ivan and Maria’), both names referring to its striking inflorescence with yellow flowers and bright purplish-blue or violet bracts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plant to about 40 cm tall, often branched, leaves opposite, almost stalkless, linear or narrowly lanceolate, green or occasionally purple, to 10 cm long. The inflorescence is a terminal, one-sided, lax spike, lower bracts like the leaves, but smaller, upper usually toothed or with long, narrow lobes, calyx with fused sepals, with 4 lobes to 5 mm long, corolla pale or dark yellow, sometimes reddish, to 1.8 cm long, 2-lipped, upper lip forming a hood, lower straight, 3-lobed. The seeds are dispersed by ants of the genus Formica, which eat a fleshy structure on the seed, called elaiosomes.

This species is readily eaten by cows, giving rise to the common name of the genus. It contains large quantities of dulcit, a saccharide, and the fact that it also contains a toxic glycoside, rhinanthin, did not seem to harm the cattle.

In former days, it was utilized in traditional Austrian medicine, taken internally as tea, or used externally as filling in pillows to treat rheumatism and blood vessels calcification.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in meadows’ – not a descriptive name, as the plant mostly grows in forests and moorland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name means ‘growing in woods’, derived from the Latin silva (‘forest’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name means ‘tooth-related’, derived from Ancient Greek odous (‘tooth’). According to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.), plants of this genus were used to treat toothache.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of seashores’.

 

 

 

 

 

It is widely distributed, found in all of Europe, except Iceland, eastwards to eastern Siberia, southwards to the Mediterranean, Iran, and northern China.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek orobos (‘bean’) and ankhein (‘to strangle’), alluding to the bean broomrape (O. crenata, below).

 

It has a wide distribution, occurring in the major part of Europe and in North Africa, eastwards through Russia and south-western Asia to Tibet, the Himalaya, and central China. In the Alps, it is found up to altitudes of about 1,900 m, whereas in Asia it has been encountered up to 3,700 m. It prefers moderately dry, calcareous soils.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, presumably referring to the often pale (but rarely completely white) flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Turkey and the Caucasus southwards to Syria, northern Iraq, and northern Iran, growing exclusively on species of sage (Salvia), at elevations between 400 and 2,500 m.

The specific name refers to Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem stout, to 80 cm tall, spike many-flowered, bracts narrowly lanceolate, long-pointed, glandular-hairy, brown or purplish about the same length as the corolla tube. Calyx lobes 2, separated, each with 2 narrow, divergent teeth. Corolla to 3 cm long, white or pale lilac, or a combination, often with many darker violet, longitudunal streaks, orange-yellow in the throat, lips having broad lobes, which have rounded teeth along the wavy margin.

In Apulia, southern Italy, its stems, called sporchia, are eaten. (Source: E. Luard 2004. European peasant cookery, Grub Street)

The specific name is Latin, in a botanical context meaning ‘with blunt teeth along the margin’, in this case referring to the corolla tube.

 

 

 

 

 

Plant reddish or yellowish-brown, or a combination, usually glandular-hairy, leaves scale-like, narrowly lanceolate, to 2 cm long and 4 mm wide. The inflorescence is a terminal spike, to 15 cm long, bracts lanceolate, as long as the flowers, which are up to 2.5 cm long, yellowish-brown or purplish-red, curved, upper lip toothed, stigma yellow.

It grows in open areas, only on alkaline soils, found in the major part of Europe, eastwards through western and Central Asia to the Gansu Province of China, southwards to the Mediterranean and Iran.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘taller’ – i.e. taller than most other broomrapes.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem erect, slender, hairy, reddish, brownish, or yellowish, to 60 cm tall, leaves and bracts dark purple, scale-like, flowers in a dense terminal spike, corolla tubular, to 2.4 cm long, glandular-hairy, brownish-yellow outside, blood-red inside.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘slender’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is parasitic mainly on members of the pea family (Fabaceae), including clover (Trifolium) and sainfoin (Onobrychis). It grows in grassy areas on a wide variety of soils, acid, neutral, or alkaline, in the open or in semi-shade. It is native to central and southern Europe, eastwards to Ukraine, Turkey, northern Iraq, and the Caucasus, and also to the Arabian Peninsula, and northern and eastern Africa. It has become naturalized in several areas, including New Zealand, the United States, and some South American countries. It is often common in clover fields, and is regarded as an agricultural pest in New Zealand and the United States.

Formerly, this plant was utilized to treat various health problems.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘smaller’ – presumably meaning smaller than most other broomrapes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name alludes to the stem of the plant most often being purple.

 

 

 

 

 

As its name implies, the stem is branched, to 60 cm tall, and covered in glandular hairs. The flowers are blue with two white streaks on the lower lip.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having many branches’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of Pope Nicholas V (1397-1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli.

 

It is distributed in the British Isles and around the Mediterranean, eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran, and also on the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, growing in meadows and other humid places, from sea level to elevations around 900 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sticky’, derived from viscum, a birdlime made from the mistletoe (Viscum album), here referring to the numerous glandular hairs on this plant.

 

 

 

 

 

The corolla of these plants is 2-lipped, the upper lip compressed sideways, forming a helmet-like structure, or elongated into teeth or a beak, whereas the lower lip is usually broad, lobed, flat or curved.

The generic name is derived from the Latin pediculus (‘louse’). According to an old superstition, louseworts could transfer lice to people and cattle, or, according to another belief, the exact opposite was the case, namely that they were able to rid people and cattle of lice! In Denmark, a decoction of these plants was used to expel lice from clothes.

If you shake a lousewort capsule that contains ripe seeds, you may hear a rattling sound from the seeds, which has given rise to the popular name rattle of these plants.

Usually, animals do not graze on louseworts, as they contain poisonous glycosides. Nevertheless, in former times, children at various places in Great Britain would suck out the nectar of the flowers. In Donegal, the plant was known as honey-cap or honey-cup, and in Shetland as bee-sookies or hinney-flo’er.

 

This species is restricted to the south-western Alps, growing in grasslands on calcareous soils, at elevations between 1,800 and 2,600 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The beak, which is usually hidden under the rounded petals, is bifid, which gave rise to the specific name, derived from the Latin bi (‘having two parts’) and cornu (‘horn’).

This plant is distributed in rather dry areas, from Afghanistan eastwards to to Indian state of Uttarakhand, and in adjacent areas of Tibet, at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,400 m. The long-tubed lousewort (P. longiflora, below), also with yellow flowers, is found in the same area, but is restricted to wet meadows.

In Tibetan folk medicine, it is used as a cooling agent, and for liver disorders and alcohol problems, the flowers for treatment of vaginal and seminal discharges. Tender leaves are cooked as a potherb.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem to 14 cm tall, basal leaves 2-3, blade ovate or elliptic, twice or sometimes thrice pinnately divided, sometimes brown along the margin, to 4 cm long and 2 cm broad, stem leaves 2 (sometimes missing), blade elliptic, twice pinnately divided, to 2.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. The inflorescense is a terminal raceme, forming a head of 2-8 flowers, bracts narrowly lanceolate, to 2 cm long and 8 mm wide, entire or pinnately divided, sometimes brown along the margin, calyx hairy, to 1.5 cm long, with 5 triangular or spatulate, toothed lobes, to 6 mm long, corolla pale yellow, sometimes cream-coloured or pink, to 4 cm long, beakless.

The arctic bumblebee (Bombus polaris) plays an essential role in the pollination of this species and the woolly lousewort (P. lanata, below). This bee is adapted in a way that allows it to work the spikes from the bottom towards the top. (Source: P.G. Kevan 1972. Insect Pollination of High Arctic Flowers. Journal of Ecology, 60 (3): 831-847)

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a head’, alluding to the compact inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

It was first collected in New Mexico in the 1850s by surgeon and botanist John Milton Bigelow (1804-1878), who collected many undescribed plant species on expeditions to south-western U.S. and northern Mexico.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kentron (‘sharp point’) and anthos (‘flower’), alluding to the pointed flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed in central and southern Europe, and Turkey, growing at forest edges, and in meadows and stony slopes, usually on calcareous soil, at elevations between 1,000 and 3,600 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘very hairy’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is quite similar to the previous species, but the leaves are dissected into finer segments, and the flowers are a darker yellow.

It is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, found in coniferous forests, rhododendron shrubberies, and grasslands, and on rocky slopes, at elevations between 1,400 and 3,200 m.

It has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘compressed’, alluding to the dense inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

It may sometimes grow to 50 cm tall, but is usually lower, with a densely hairy stem. The basal leaves are fern-like, lanceolate in outline, green, up to 10 in number, to 20 cm long and 7 cm wide, twice or thrice pinnately divided, often downy, stem leaves up to 20, similar, but gradually smaller up the stem. The inflorescences, up to 5, are racemes, each with 10-50 flowers, bracts red, leaf-like, entire or pinnately divided, smooth, calyx downy, to 1.8 cm long, with 5 triangular lobes to 4 mm long, hairy, corolla dark red, purple, or orange-yellow, rarely white, to 4.3 cm long, upper lip almost covering the white anthers.

Formerly, it was utilized by indigenous peoples to relax tired muscles, and buds and flowers were smoked as a mild intoxicant.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘dense-flowered’. The popular names also refer to the inflorescence, which somewhat resembles a Native American warrior’s plume.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name refers to the inflorescence, a long, dense, terminal spike of pale yellow flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant occurs at elevations between 2,000 and 4,300 m, from Afghanistan and Pakistan eastwards to south-western China.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘slender’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stem erect, to 60 cm tall, but usually much lower, basal leaves 5-20, fern-like, lanceolate in outline, to 15 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, pinnately divided, smooth, initially reddish, changing to green, stem leaves similar, but gradually smaller up the stem. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme, to 15 cm long, occasionally to 25 cm, with 20-70 flowers, bracts variable, green or reddish, entire or lobed, to 1 cm long and wide, smooth, corolla pink, reddish-purple, or purple, rarely white. The beak is long and pointed, curving upward, remarkably resembling an elephant’s lifted trunk, whereas the lateral lobes resemble an elephant’s ears – hence the popular name.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in grass or other taller vegetation on calcareous soils, in the Alps found up to elevations of about 2,000 m. It is distributed from the central Apennines eastwards to Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Ukraine, and thence northwards to Poland and Belarus.

The specific name was given in memory of Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (c. 1739-1815), of French descent, professor of anatomy and surgery in Laibach (now Ljubljana). He wrote a book about the botany of the Carniola area, named Plantae alpinae carniolicae (1782).

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in rather wet areas in the Himalaya, at elevations between 2,500 and 4,500 m, from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to eastern Nepal.

It somewhat resembles P. bicornuta (above), but the flowers are not ball-shaped, and it grows in much wetter places.

The specific name was given in honour of German physician and botanist Werner Friedrich Hoffmeister (1819-1845), who accompanied his friend, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar of Prussia (1817-1849), as a personal physician on an expedition to India 1845-46. He was killed in Punjab in a skirmish with Sikhs. Hoffmeister collected numerous plants during the expedition, many of which were new to science. His material was published in 1853, titled Die Botanischen Ergebnisse der Reise seiner königl. Hoheit des Prinzen Waldemar von Preussen in den Jahren 1845 und 1846 (‘Botanical results of the travels of His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar von Preussen in the years 1845 and 1846’).

 

 

 

 

 

It grows to 20 cm tall, stem erect, leaves alternate, with a winged stalk, to 3.5 cm long, blade pinnately divided, to 5 cm long and 6 mm broad, spreading, linear or oblanceolate in outline, almost smooth, or sometimes hairy. The inflorescence is a terminal, dense, cylindrical spike, to 9 cm long and 4 cm wide, elongating in fruit, bracts green or reddish, toothed, sepals 5, purple, fused, to 7 mm wide, petals 5, fused, pink or purplish-pink, upper lip forming a 2-lobed helmet, lower lip 3-lobed.

Despite containing toxic glycosides, this species and P. capitata (above) are sometimes browsed by caribou (Rangifer tarandus).

The specific name is derived from the Latin lana (‘wool’), alluding to the dense layer of woolly hairs, covering almost the entire plant.

 

 

 

 

 

It is usually below 10 cm tall, occasionally to 18 cm. Basal leaves form a rosette, leaf-stalk to 2 cm long, blade to 3 cm long, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, pinnately divided, lobes toothed, to 5 mm long. Stem leaves smaller. Flowers are in terminal clusters, golden-yellow, often with maroon streaks on the lower lip, tube very long and slender, to 5 cm, hairy, upper lip ending in a curled beak, to 6 mm long.

Locally, a decoction of this plant is used as a diuretic, flowers for heat disorders, oedema, and inflammation of the liver and gall bladder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in the Himalaya, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, growing at elevations between 2,300 and 4,300 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek mega (‘large’) and anthos (‘flower’) – an apt name for this species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species has a very wide distribution, found in subarctic and temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, although missing in eastern North America. The southern limits are northern Balkans, the Himalaya, south-western China, Japan, and South Dakota. In Central Asia, it grows at elevations between 2,600 and 5,400 m.

The specific name honours German botanist, physician, and economist Georg Christian Edler von Oldenburg Oeder (1728-1791), who was employed as Professor botanices regius (Royal Professor) in Copenhagen, where he was in charge of establishing a new botanical garden. From 1753, he led the publication of a huge botanical work, Flora Danica, which was planned to cover all plants in Danish areas, including Schleswig-Holstein, Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Oeder travelled extensively in Norway 1758-60.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem much-branched, usually erect, to 60 cm tall, leaves alternate or opposite, short-stalked, blade triangular-lanceolate or linear, pinnately divided, margin curled and toothed. The inflorescence is a dense, terminal raceme, bracts leaf-like, flowers short-stalked, calyx rounded and toothed, corolla red or reddish-purple, rarely white, to 2.5 cm long, petals fused into a tube, upper lip slightly shorter than lower lip.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in swamps’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Pakistan eastwards to western Nepal, growing at elevations between 2,400 and 4,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘combed’, referring to the leaves, whose segments are arranged like the teeth of a comb.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan eastwards to Uttarakhand, found at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,500 m.

The specific name alludes to the white spot in the flower.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is restricted to the Alps, found from France eastwards to Austria and Slovenia. It thrives in calcareous grasslands, at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,700 m.

 

 

 

 

 

Stems often several, to 30 cm tall, usually erect, unbranched, dark, shining. Basal leaves stalked, oblong in outline, pinnately cut into 9-12 ovate, toothed segments, stem leaves few, smaller. Inflorescence in a short raceme, to 8 cm long, bracts leaflike, calyx green, to 1.5 cm long, with longitudinal nerves and small purple dots. The slender corolla tube is twice as long as the calyx, beak to 1 cm long, lower lip to 2.8 cm across.

It has a very wide distribution, found from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan eastwards to Mongolia, southern Siberia, and north-western China, southwards across Tibet to Pakistan, Himachal Pradesh, and the Yunnan Province, in the Himalaya growing at elevations between 3,300 and 4,800 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek rhinos (‘nose’), anthos (‘flower’), and oid (‘resembling’), referring to the trunk-like beak of the flower.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in the Pyrenees and the Alps, eastwards to Austria and Slovenia, and in the Dinaric Alps, growing in grasslands at altitudes between 1,900 and 2,700 m. It is divided into two subspecies, the nominate rosea occurring from Liechtenstein and north-estern Italy eastwards, ssp. allionii from the Pyrenees eastwards to Switzerland and north-western Italy.

Subspecies allionii was named in honour of Italian physician and botanist Carlo Allioni (1728-1804), professor of botany at the University of Turin. His most important work was Flora Pedemontana, sive enumeratio methodica stirpium indigenarum Pedemontii, from 1755, a study of the plant life of Piedmont, listing 2,813 species, of which 237 were previously unknown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plant to 20 cm tall, stem ascending, with 2 longitudinal lines of white hairs, leaves lanceolate in outline, twice pinnately divided, smooth, usually dark purple, to 9 cm long and 2 cm wide. The inflorescence is a short spike, bracts leaf-like, calyx narrowly bell-shaped, to 9 mm long, corolla to 2.2 cm long, bright pink, sometimes purple on upper lip, tube cylindric, a little longer than the calyx.

It is distributed from eastern Switzerland eastwards to the Julian Alps and the Carpathians, growing on limestone screes and in grassland, at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,800 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin rostrum (‘beak’), caput (‘head’), and atus, an adjective-forming suffix, referring to the dense inflorescence, composed of beaked flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in grasslands on calcareous soils, from eastern France eastwards to Austria and the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

The specific name is derived from the Latin rostrum (‘beak’), spica (‘spike’), and atus, an adjective-forming suffix, referring to the inflorescence, composed of beaked flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

The stem is often to 60 cm tall, occasionally to 1 m, green or dark purple, basal leaves long-stalked, forming a rosette, blade oblanceolate or linear-oblong in outline, to 30 cm long and 4 cm wide, pinnately divided, with 7-17 pairs of ovate or oblong segments, stem leaves few, smaller. Inflorescence often more than 20 cm long, composed of pseudo-whorls, bracts broadly ovate, calyx to 1.5 cm long, with toothed lobes, corolla yellow, usually with purplish-red tip, tubular, curved, to 3 cm long, lips fused.

The Swedish name of this species, Kung Karls spira, means ’Scepter of King Karl (Charles)’, where ’scepter’ refers to the erect inflorescence. It was applied to this plant by Swedish naturalist and linguist, professor of medicine, and principal of the university of Uppsala, Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740), who was a pioneer of botany and ornithology. The name was meant as a homage to King Karl XII (1682-1718), following the victory in the battles of Narva, Estonia, in 1700, and Riga, Latvia, in 1701. (Source: linnaeus.nrm.se)

The specific name is a direct translation of the Swedish name, applied by the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows at elevations between 3,300 and 4,800 m, from western Nepal eastwards to Sikkim

The specific name commemorates botanist J. Scully, who collected plants in the Himalaya in the 1870s. I have not been able to find any other information about him.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to the major part of Europe, apart from the Balkans, Finland, and Russia, and is also found in Morocco. It has been introduced to New Foundland. It grows on more acidic soils than marsh lousewort, mainly in moist moorland and heathland.

English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) informs us that “the red rattle is accounted profitable to heal fistulas [an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces, such as blood vessels or intestines] and hollow ulcers, and to stay the flux of humours [liquids] in them, as also the abundance of the courses or any other flux of blood, being boiled in port wine and drunk.” [‘To stay’ is an old expression for ‘to stop’.]

The specific name means ‘growing in woods’, derived from the Latin silva (‘forest’) – an odd name for this plant, which mainly grows in moist moorland and heathland.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem to 60 cm tall, striated, very hairy, the major part of the hairs in 2 lines down the stem, leaves stalkless, clasping the stem, blade hairy, linear-lanceolate, to 7 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, pinnately divided, with 20-25 pairs of lobes, margin double-toothed. Inflorescence a terminal raceme, to 18 cm long, calyx to 1.6 cm long, densely hairy, 5-lobed. Corolla tube to 1 cm long, petals reddish-purple or blackish-purple, beak slender, curved, like the lower lip smooth.

It grows at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m in Central Asia, found from Qinghai and Sichuan southwards to Yunnan, south-eastern Tibet, and northern Myanmar, and thence westwards to Uttarakhand.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek thrix (‘hair’) and glossa (‘tongue’), alluding to the hairy upper lip of the flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from the Kola Peninsula eastwards along the Arctic coast to the Pacific coast, and thence southwards to Kazakhstan, China, and Japan. It is also native to Alaska and north-western Canada, and to montane areas of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees across the Alps to the Carpathians and the Tatra Mountains, on the Balkans, and in Ukraine.

It is partial to calcareous soil, in central Europe growing at altitudes between 900 and 3,000 m, in Central Asia found up to around 4,400 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having whorls’, alluding to the stem leaves being arranged in whorls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek rhinos (‘nose’) and anthos (‘flower’), referring to the nose-like upper lip of the corolla.

The name yellow-rattle refers to the yellow flowers of this genus, which turn into thin-walled capsules, surrounded by a dry, membrane-like calyx. When the wind blows, the seeds inside the capsule produce a rattling sound.

 

Stem erect, simple or branched, to 40 cm tall, but mostly much lower, leaves opposite, lanceolate or ovate, sessile, to 5 cm long and 1 cm wide, margin with blunt teeth. The inflorescence is a lax, terminal raceme, bracts rhombic or triangular, calyx swollen in fruit, to 2 cm long, initially with white hairs, later almost smooth, corolla to 2 cm long, bright yellow, tube slightly curved, stamens violet, exserted.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘larger’ (than R. minor).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘an evil spirit’. Like the common name, it refers to the mysterious drought-like symptoms, including wilting, seen in Striga-infected plants, even before the parasite emerges.

 

The stem is erect, green, usually below 30 cm tall, but occasionally to 60 cm, leaves more or less opposite, narrowly lanceolate, to 3 cm long. The flowers are axillary, stalkless, to 1.5 cm across, with a two-lipped corolla, colour variable, red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, or white.

It is a serious pest on crops like sorghum, millet, maize, rice, and sugarcane, especially among subsistence farmers in Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek dendron (‘tree’) and phthora (‘destruction’ or ‘death’), thus ‘destroying trees’.

 

An erect, much-branched shrub, branches striated, rough, leaves ovate, obovate, or spatulate, with a very short or no stalk, tip rounded. The inflorescences are axillary spikes, to 2 cm long, each with 18-40 tiny flowers. The ripe fruit is white, globular.

The specific name refers to Costa Rica, where the plant is rather common.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek phore (‘carrier’) and dendron (‘tree’), thus ‘carried on a tree’, referring to the epiphytic habits of this genus. It was named by Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a British printer, who came to the United States in 1808. Shortly after his arrival, he met botanist Benjamin Barton (1766-1815), who induced a strong interest in natural history in him. During the following years, until 1841, Nuttall undertook several expeditions in America, and numerous plants and animals are named after him.

Phoradendron flowers are greenish and very small, only 1-3 mm in diameter. The fruits are a favourite food of silky-flycatchers (Phainopepla) and other birds, the seeds being spread in their droppings.

Leafy mistletoes sometimes severely reduce crop productions in fruit and nut trees. Foliage and berries of some species are toxic.

 

It is parasitic on a wide selection of trees or shrubs, including mesquite (Prosopis), ironwood (Olneya tesota), catclaw acacia (Senegalia greggii), palo verde (Parkinsonia), and desert buckthorn (Condalia).

A shrub to 1 m across, erect or spreading, branches green, reddish, or purple, initially hairy, later smooth, leaves less than 2 mm long, pressed flat against the branches, quickly drying, becoming scale-like. Flowers yellowish, appearing during winter, fruits smooth, globular, to 5 mm across, white, pink, or reddish, turning more or less translucent when ripe.

Formerly, the fruits were consumed by various indigenous peoples, who harvested them by spreading a blanket beneath the plant, hitting it with sticks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A shrub to 80 cm tall/long, erect or pendent, generally woody only at base, branches green, smooth, leaves tiny, scale-like, flowers green, tiny, fruit to 4 mm across, white or pinkish, smooth.

Formerly, the berries were eaten by several indigenous peoples, while the leaves were used for tea, and also for treating various ailments, including stomachache, to relax tired muscles, and to diminish bleeding after childbirth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a shrub with erect, greyish-green or yellowish-green branches, to 1 m long, leaves opposite, to 3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, downy-hairy, flowers minute, berries globular or ovoid, to 4 mm long, pale pink.

The specific name means ’hairy’, alluding to the dense cover of downy hairs on the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for birdlime, made from these plants. The name mistletoe is from Old Germanic mistel (‘dung’) and tan (‘twig’), thus ‘the twig in the dung’, which aptly describes seeds of these plants, sprouting in a bird dropping left on a branch.

 

 

 

 

 

A shrubby plant, forming dense clumps, branches to 1 m long, leaves opposite, evergreen, narrowly obovate, fleshy, smooth, yellowish-green, to 8 cm long and 3 cm wide, flowers yellowish-green, to 3 mm across. The fruit is a white or yellowish berry, sometimes to 1 cm in diameter.

To the Celtic druids, mistletoes, growing on the sacred oak trees, possessed the power of the oaks, and they formed a part of their religious rituals. Mistletoes were only collected when the druids had visions, directing them to seek it.

Carrying mistletoe branches, young men would walk around, announcing the coming of the new year. This custom was probably taken over by the British, and even after the introduction of Christianity it was preserved in a different form. On New Year’s Eve, branches of mistletoe were cut, adorned with fruits and brightly coloured ribbons, and hung from a beam at midnight, after which young men would lead young maidens beneath the mistletoe and wish them Happy New Year with a kiss.

In Brittany, this plant is called Herbe de la Croix. According to an old legend, the Cross of Christ was made from its wood, which caused it to be degraded to a parasite.

In Norse mythology, Balder, the god of love, son of Odin and Frigg, was troubled by ominous dreams, so his mother made all living and inanimate things swear that they would not harm him. The other gods tested the oath by shooting arrows and hurling stones at him, but he remained unscathed. However, Frigg had neglected to ask the mistletoe. This was noted by the evil and cunning Loke, who made an arrow from it and persuaded Balder’s blind brother Höðer to fire it at him, killing him.

Formerly, in its entire area of distribution, birdlime was made from the gluey berries, utilized to catch thrushes and other small birds – a practice still taking place in the Middle East and the Himalaya. Soap was produced from the berries in the 1800s.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, referring to the berry colour.

 

 

 

 

 

A much-branched shrub, branches cylindric, to 80 cm long, leaves mostly opposite, short-stalked, blade elliptic or oblong, to 7 cm long and 2 cm broad, leathery, 3-5-veined, tip rounded. Inflorescences are terminal, male ones in racemes, usually with 3 flowers, to 2 mm across, female ones spikes with 3-5 flowers, berry red, yellowish, or orange, globular, to 8 mm across.

The specific name probably alludes to the brightly coloured berries.