toothwort

Toothwort
Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Lamiales Family: Orobanchaceae Genus: Lathraea
Species
Lathraea clandestina Lathraea japonica Lathraea purpurea Lathraea rhodopea Lathraea squamaria

Toothwort (Lathraea) is a small genus of five to seven species of flowering plants, native to temperate Europe and Asia. They are parasites on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking chlorophyll. They are classified in the family Orobanchaceae. In addition, Cardamine concatenata is also called toothwort.

• Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) is parasitic on the roots of hazel and alder, occasionally on beech, in shady places such as hedge sides. Lathreae squamaria is widespread in Europe.

Purple Toothwort (Lathraea clandestina)

• Purple Toothwort (Lathraea clandestina) grows on the roots of alder, poplar and willow. It differs in the dark purple flowers being produced one on each stem. Purple Toothwort grows in Middle and South Europe: Western Belgium, Western and Central France and Northern Spain, and locally in Central Italy. ^[1] Elsewhere, especially in England, the plant is locally acclimated in parks and old gardens.
• Rhodope Toothwort (Lathraea rhodopaea) is common for Rhodope Mountains and Rila.

In Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov's "In the Forests" a Russian wise woman (znakharka) calls this plant Peter's Cross and says it protects against devils but only if collected with a prayer to God.

References

• Flora Europaea: Lathraea
• Flora of China: Lathraea

Common Toothwort. Illustration from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885

Notes

1. ^ GRIN. Lathraea clandestina

External links

 "Toothwort". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.