YELLOW RATTLE

HAY-RATTLE

Rhinanthus minor

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]  
Formerly in: Figwort & Foxglove Family [Scrophulariaceae]

month8May month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8Aug month8sep month8sept

flower
flower8yellow
inner
inner8orange
morph
morph8zygo
petals
petalsZ2
stem
stem8round

9th June 2008, Humphrey Gate, Taddington, White Peaks. Photo: © RWD
A limestone-area pasture-field full of Yellow Rattle.


9th June 2008, Humphrey Gate, Taddington, White Peaks. Photo: © RWD


9th June 2008, Humphrey Gate, Taddington, White Peaks. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


9th June 2008, Humphrey Gate, Taddington, White Peaks. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2008, Middlesclough, Broughton In Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


23rd May 2008, Shell Island, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


21st June 2006, Goytside Farm, Newtown, New Mills, Derbyshire. Photo: © RWD


Some similarities to : There are three sub-species of Yellow Rattle, differentiating between them is best left to experts with more patience.

Slight resemblance to : A canary clambering out of an eggshell, with its' mouth agape.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics: Apart from much rarer Greater Yellow Rattle, which looks very similar, there are no other plants that have the same jizz as Yellow Rattle.

Distinguishing Feature : looks like a canary emerging from its' eggshell with mouth agape.

This is a  Hemi-parasitic plant, meaning that it relies on obtaining some of its' nutrients from the roots of nearby plants. The flowers themselves have a beaked appearance that resembles those of Red Bartsia which is another hemi-parasite but the flowers of Yellow Rattle are larger.

One of the effects of its parasitic nature is that it reduces the abundance of grasses by suppressing their growth.

Yellow Rattle derives its' name from the seeds which rattle around in their pods when ripe. It is highly variable in several characteristics and displays ecotypic variation; that is variation due to the ecology of its immediate surroundings.

There are seven sub-species of Yellow Rattle, those shown here could be any number of them.


Distribution
family8Broomrape  family8Orobanchaceae

 BSBI maps
genus8Rhinanthus
Rhinanthus

YELLOW RATTLE

HAY-RATTLE

Rhinanthus minor

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]  
Formerly in: Figwort & Foxglove Family [Scrophulariaceae]

WildFlowerFinder Homepage