''Odontites vernus'', the red

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 ...

, is a wild flower from 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 ...

native to Europe and Asia and occurring as an alien in North America. The red bartsia is a common plant in low-fertility soils, where it lives partially as a

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

on the roots of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es. The red bartsia has pinkish and red flowers from June to September. They prefer dry conditions and full sun light exposure and are pollinated by bees and wasps. Over the last 70 years, the red bartsia has disappeared from many woodland locations in the English county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. In

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the plant known as red bartsia is considered a

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

Etymology

''Odontites'' is derived from Greek and means 'tooth-related', a name which is in reference to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

using it to treat toothaches. ''Vernus'' means 'of the spring' (vernal).Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 278, 400

References

External links

* vernus Plants described in 1827 {{Orobanchaceae-stub