''Lathraea'' (toothwort) is a small genus of five to seven 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 ...

s, native to temperate

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. They are

parasitic plant A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the ...

s on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...

. They are classified in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 the ...

. The toothwort is a

protocarnivorous plant A protocarnivorous plant (sometimes also paracarnivorous, subcarnivorous, or borderline carnivore), according to some definitions, traps and kills insects or other animals but lacks the ability to either directly digest or absorb nutrients from i ...

. Most of the plant consists of a branched whitish underground stem closely covered with thick fleshy colourless leaves, which are bent over so as to hide the under surface; irregular cavities communicating with the exterior are formed in the thickness of the leaf. On the inner walls of these chambers are stalked hairs, which when stimulated by the touch of an insect send out delicate filaments by means of which the insect is killed and digested. Lathraea clandestina 040603w

Etymology

The genus name ''Lathraea'' derives from the

ancient greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

(), meaning "clandestine", which is a reference to the fact that it is inconspicuous until it flowers.

Phylogeny

The phylogeny of the genera of

Rhinantheae Rhinantheae is a tribe with less than 20 genera of herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae. Phylogeny The phylogeny of the genera of Rhinantheae has been explored using DNA markers. Three assemblages can be distinguished in this tribe: * ...

has been explored using molecular characters. ''Lathraea'' is the sister genus to ''

Rhinanthus ''Rhinanthus'' is a genus of annual hemiparasitic herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae, formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. Its species are commonly known as rattles. The genus consists of about 30 to 40 species found in ...

'', and then to ''

Rhynchocorys ''Rhynchocorys'' is a small genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae, formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is native to Europe, Morocco and Algeria. Etymology The genus name ''Rhynchocorys'' derives fro ...

''. These three genera share phylogenetic affinities with members of the core Rhinantheae: ''

Bartsia ''Bartsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae. Bartsia grows in damp places, such as marshes and wet meadows, in several parts of the west of England and Wales and in southwest Scotland. Etymology ''Bartsia'' was name ...

'', ''

Euphrasia ''Euphrasia'', or eyebright, is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other ...

'', ''

Tozzia ''Tozzia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, ''Tozzia alpina''. While the plant in its young, vegetative stage is holoparasite, it becomes hemiparasite in its flowe ...

'', ''

Hedbergia ''Hedbergia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants, initially classified in Scrophulariaceae, and now within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, ''Hedbergia abyssinica''. It is an afromontane genus, widespread in ...

'', '' Bellardia'', and ''

Odontites ''Odontites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae. Phylogeny The phylogeny of the genera of Rhinantheae has been explored using molecular characters. ''Odontites'' belongs to the core Rhinantheae. It is the sister genus to ...

''. ''

Melampyrum ''Melampyrum'' is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae known commonly as cow wheat. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are hemiparasites on other plants, obtai ...

'' appears as a more distant relative.

Species

* Common toothwort (''

Lathraea squamaria ''Lathraea squamaria'', the common toothwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is widely distributed in Europe and also occurs in Turkey. It is parasitic on the roots of hazel and alder, and occasionally other tree ...

'') is parasitic on the roots of

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

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 ...

, occasionally on

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, in shady places such as hedge sides. ''Lathraea squamaria'' is widespread in Europe. * Purple toothwort (''

Lathraea clandestina ''Lathraea clandestina'', the purple toothwort also known as ''clandestine'' in France, is a parasitic plant species in the flowering plant family Orobanchaceae. It is native to western Europe. Description ''Lathraea clandestina'' is a holoparas ...

'') grows on the roots of alder, poplar and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

. At Arduaine Garden in Argyll in the absence of the three well-known hosts it grows on the roots of a variety of ornamental trees and shrubs; in the same garden cats are frequently seen to roll in the flowers and to eat them. 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.GRIN. Lathraea clandestina
Elsewhere, especially in the British Isles, the plant is locally naturalized in parks and old gardens. *Rhodope toothwort (''

Lathraea rhodopaea ''Lathraea'' (toothwort) is a small genus of five to seven species of flowering plants, native to temperate Europe and Asia. They are parasitic plants on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking chlorophyll. They are classified in th ...

'') is common in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

and

Rila Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Mus ...

mountain range in southeastern Europe. In

Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov (alias Andrey Pechersky, russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ме́льников (Андре́й Пече́рский), 1818, Nizhny Novgorod – 1883) was a Russian writer, best known for his novels ''In the Fore ...

'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.

Notes

References

Flora Europaea: ''Lathraea''

Flora of China: ''Lathraea''
Illustration Lathraea squamaria0

{{Taxonbar, from=Q143696 Orobanchaceae Orobanchaceae genera Parasitic plants