Seasonal Wild Flowers

Yellow Bartsia

Parentucellia viscosa

Scrophulariaceae

June to September

Native plants are found in the Southwest, the South and

the Northwest.

Alien plants are thinly scattered throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Yellow Bartsia

The native plant grows in damp, sandy, grassy places such as

drier dune slacks.

The alien is sown with seed mixtures and is found in pastures

inland.

Yellow Bartsia is a native, hemiparasitic, sticky annual, growing up

to 50cm.

Flowers are in spikes in the axils of leaf-like bracts.

The yellow flowers are up to 2cm and have 2 lips, the upper

shorter than the lower.

The upper lip forms a tube and the lower has 3 lobes.

The 4 stamens are in the upper lip.

The calyx is tubular and 4 toothed.

Leaves are opposite, triangular and toothed.

Stems are usually not branched.

The whole plant is covered by glands and is very sticky to

touch.

Yellow Barsia, dune slack, Devon

Single, unbranched plant

Flower spike - bracts

Stamens in upper lip, 3-lipped lower leaf

Toothed, paired leaves

Glands on stem and bracts