''Odontites luteus'' is a plant belonging to the genus ''

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 ...

'' 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 the ...

Description

''Odontites luteus'' is an annual plant,

hemiparasite 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 ...

, 10 to 60 cm high. The leaves are linear, narrow and generally entire. The inflorescences are organized in unilateral clusters. The pubescent corolla, with ciliate-bearded margins, has a deep yellow color. The stamens are clearly prominent outside the corolla. The number of chromosomes of this species is 2n = 20.

Habitat and distribution

''Odontites luteus'' is distributed in Europe and North Africa (subsp. ''reboudii''). It grows in steppes, garrigues and in the edge of dry forests. It prefers moderately dry soils, usually limestone, poor in clay, but always in sunny exposure. In Central Europe, this plant belongs to the Festuco-Brometea and Sedo-Scleranthetea classes.

Systematics

Three subspecies have been described: * ''Odontites luteus'' (L.) Clairv. subsp. ''luteus''. * ''Odontites luteus'' subsp. ''bonifaciensis'' (Rouy) P. Fourn. (Syn .: ''Euphrasia bonifaciensis'' Rouy): this subspecies is found in Corsica. * ''Odontites luteus'' subsp.''reboudii'' (Pomel) Quézel & Santa: this subspecies is found in Algeria.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163213 luteus Parasitic plants