Parasitic plants make up around 1% of all plant species. Many, like these meadow plants, are partial- or hemi-parasites; this means they still photosynthesise to make sugar, but tap into the roots of their host to take water and nutrients. Essentially, they are piggy-backing on the investment their hosts have made in growing an extensive root system. The hemi-parasites can grow without a host but, in low-fertility soils where nutrients are harder to find, they will grow more vigorously with one.
Look out for the following parasitical plants on your spring wanders.
A field guide to parasitic plants in UK grassland
Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor)
!["Close]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/Yellow_rattle-19d55ba.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C934" "\"Rhinanthus")
Rhinanthus Minor. Yellow Rattle. Cockscomb/Credit: Getty
Flowers from May to August in grasslands throughout the UK and has distinctive seed pouches that rattle when dry.
Red bartsia (Odontites vernus)
!["Red]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/red_bartsia-ad9b655.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C930" "\"Red")
Slender purple-tinted flower spikes appear from June to September in rough grassy places throughout the UK.
Yellow bartsia (Parentucellia viscosa)
!["Yellow]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/Yellow_bartsia-b1dc4e7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C930" "\"Parentucellia")
Produces sticky yellow flower-spikes (below) in grassy heaths and verges from June to October in the west of the UK.
More related content:
- Meadow guide: where to see and best wildflowers to plant
- Best wildflower meadow walks in Britain
- John Craven: Restoring wildflower meadows
Getty
!["Traditional]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2018/06/Orchids-15dc9a3.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556" "\"Traditional")
Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica)
!["Common]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/common_lousewort-f32beb6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C825" "\"Common")
Produces low-growing two-lipped pink flowers from April to July on damp heaths and rough grassland throughout most of the UK.
Common eyebright (Euphrasia nemorosa)
!["A]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/common_eyebright-0ff1aa9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Common")
Grows in grasslands throughout the UK, and the tiny dark-veined flowers with a yellow blotch appear from May to September.
Marsh lousewort (Pedicularis palustris)
!["Marsh]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/marsh_lousewort-752c23f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C930" "\"Flower")
Similar to lousewort but prefers wetter grassland, flowering between May and September in the north and west of the UK.
Common cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense)
!["Close]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/22/2022/02/cow-wheat-59dfa56.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Common")
Grows on heaths and in scrubby grassland and woods across the UK, with tubular yellow flowers (below) appearing from May through to September.
Amanda Tuke is a south-London-based nature writer and is the current Great North Wood nature-writer-in-residence. Read her blog at suburbanwild.wordpress.com