Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Odontites vulgaris
Odontites vulgaris
- Family: Figwort Family – Scrophulariaceae
- Growing form: Annual herb. Semiparasite.
- Height: 15–30 cm (6–12 in.). Stem branched, reddish.
- Flower: Irregular (zygomorphic). Corolla reddish-pink, bilabiate, 4-lobed, hairy, ca. 10 mm (0.4 in.) long. Upper lip convex at the tip, notched. Lower lip 3-lobed, central lobe notched, lateral lobes rounded. Calyx broadly bell-shaped, 4-lobed, hairy (also glandular-hairy), calyx-lobes slender, taper-pointed, usu. as long as calyx-tube. Stamens 4, attached to throat of corolla-tube. Pistil of 2 fused carpels, ovary bilocular, style solitary. Inflorescence a long, sparse, one-sided ax.
- Leaves: Opposite, stalkless, lanceolate, taper-pointed, stiff-hairy on both sides, and with toothed margins. Leaves longer than internodes, often tinged with purple at least near the top of the stem.
- Fruit: A brown, hairy, oval capsule splitting by longitudinal slits.
- Habitat: Roadsides, field margins, pastures, yards, boat harbours, seashore meadows.
- Flowering time: July–September.
Species of Odontites family use their haustoria to steal additional water, minerals, sugars, and even proteins from the root of neighbouring plants.
Odonites vulgaris was for long mixed with the red rattle, also called red bartsia (O. verna), a species now probably extinct from Finland. The red bartsia branches only near the top of the stem, whereas O. vulgaris branches near the base or at least at the middle of the stem. The third species in this family encountered in Finland is O. litoralis. It is unbranched.
