''Lathraea squamaria'', the common toothwort, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Orobanchaceae Orobanchaceae, the broomrapes, is a family of mostly parasitic plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera (e.g., ''Pedicularis'', ''Rhinanthus'', ''Striga'') were formerly included in th ...

. It is widely distributed in Europe and also occurs in Turkey. It is parasitic on the roots of hazel and

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

, and occasionally other trees, and represents the second occasion on which a member of the family

lost the ability to

photosynthesize Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in ...

and became parasitic. It occurs in shady places such as deciduous woodland and hedge sides. The plant consists of a branched whitish underground stem closely covered with thick, fleshy, colourless leaves, which are bent over so as to hide under the surface. The only portions that appear above ground in April to May are the short

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

-bearing shoots, which bear a spike of two-lipped dull purple flowers, but is also able to produce

cleistogamic Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. How ...

underground flowers which fertilise themselves. It is also able to regenerate from broken fragments of the underground stem.

Description

Toothwort is a perennial plant producing clumps of flowering shoots in late spring. The low, hairy, creamy-pink flowering shoot grow in a one-sided spike to a height of . The few scales on the stem represent the leaves, but the whole shoot is devoid of chlorophyll. The individual pinkish flowers are drooping and have short stalks, two lips and open mouths. The calyx teeth are blunt and hairy. The scales which represent the leaves also secrete water, which escapes and softens the ground around the plant. Externally they immediately reveal their

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

ic character by their lack of chlorophyll and the reduction of their leaf area.

Distribution and habitat

Common toothwort is widely distributed throughout Europe, its range extending from France and Norway to Russia, Bulgaria, Italy and Greece. In the British Isles, it is found in England and Northern Ireland, and less often in lowland areas of East England, Southwest England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. Its natural habitats are deciduous woodland, hedgerows and the banks of rivers and streams. It grows in Hatherton Flush, an SSSI in Cheshire.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158112 Orobanchaceae Flora of Europe Flora of Turkey Parasitic plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus