Image of common toothwort

Description:

Slo.: navadni lusnec - syn.: Clandestina rectiflora Lam., Anblatum tournefortii G.Don - Habitat: humid nutrients rich forest ground, mostly deciduous trees; flat terrain, cretaceous clastic rock (flysh) bedrock, in shade, partly protected from direct rain by tree canopies, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 8-10 deg C, elevation 480 m (1.600 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. - Substratum: soil. - Comment: Lathraea squamaria is a close relative to broomrape (Orobanche) species. It is a parasite on roots of many trees, most often on Corylus and Ulmus sp. but also Picea abies in higher elevations. It is unable to produce its own food because it has no chlorophyll. - The generic name Lathraea comes from the Greek word lathraios, meaning secret, referring to the fact that this plant can go through its whole cycle of life completely embedded in the soil as a thick, white underground rhizome densely covered by whitish scales (species name 'squamaria' means covered by scales in Latin). The only parts, which appear aboveground from time to time, are from whitish to intensive pink colored flowering spikes. - The plant is widespread in Europe and Asia, it can be found almost in the whole region of the Alps and it is quite common in Slovenia. - Ref.: (1) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 572. (2) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 278. (3) http://botany.cz/en/lathraea-squamaria/