Family: toadflaxes (Scrophulariaceae)
Flowering time: March–May
Size: 10–25 cm
Habitat: leščevje, vlažno grmovje in gozdovi
Common toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) is a parasitic plant without green leaves. It parasitizes deciduous tree species, for example lesko, beech, aspen and others. From the host plants it extracts water with organic substances that it needs for growth and development. The entire plant is pink to pale violet. The fleshy stem is bare. In the leaf axils of the scale leaves, individual flowers develop, which are covered with long protruding hairs. The flowers are grouped in a dense, usually one-sided inflorescence.
Although a very unusual plant, the common toothwort is a widely distributed forest plant in Slovenia.
