Hemi-Parasitic Plants

YELLOW BARTSIA

Parentucellia viscosa

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug month8sep month8sept

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8yellow
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ2 petalsZ4
(4)
type
typeZspiked
 
stem
stem8round
 
rarity
rarityZuncommon
 

12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
A short annual up to 50cm high found in damp grassy places often near the sea.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Flowers in a spike not in whorls, the lower more widely spaced and turning to fruit first.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Upper flowers cramped. Often topped by a small congregation of upwardly-directed green sepals yet to flower. Flowers all yellow.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Birds-eye view.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Has two petals, a top hood and a lower lip with three lobes. The hood is a slightly paler yellow than or yellow-green than the deep-yellow lip. The lip has two concolorous lumps on it somewhat reminiscent of those of Common Toadflax (Linarea vulgaris), which it superficially resembles.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
The hood has two white or purple-tipped teeth just lurking in the upturned-V-shaped upper part.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
The hood, sepals and stems have short glandular yellow hairs which make the plant feel sticky.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
The spent sepals, from which protrudes the remains of the now fawnish-coloured organs, have but four long teeth (rather than the usual 5)


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Beneath each sepal tube is a toothed and un-stalked broad to narrow leaf.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
The fruit lurks within the sepal tube.


12th July 2014, wigg Island, Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Single leaves beneath each sepal tube.


Not to be semantically confused with : Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) [another hemi-parasitic plant in the same family]

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature :

The only plant in its Genus (at least in the UK). It is a Bartsia as is Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus), but that is in a differing genus (although same Broomrape Family, Orobanchaceae) It differs from Red Bartsia in a number of features, the most obvious being that Yellow Bartsiis upright and with yellow flowers on all sides of the usually un-branched stem (whereas Red Bartsia has red flowers, mainly on one side of the arching and usually branching stems).

It is frequent in the South and West of Britain, on damp ground especially near the sea. This is a  Hemi-Parasitic plant, meaning that it relies on obtaining some of its nutrients from the roots of nearby plants, usually grasses.


  Parentucellia viscosa  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Orobanchaceae  

Distribution
 family8Broomrape family8Orobanchaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Parentucellia
Parentucellia
(Yellow Bartsia)

YELLOW BARTSIA

Parentucellia viscosa

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]