Red Odontites

Description:

Odontites vulgaris (red bartsia- red odontites) is an annual plant in the broomrape Family – Orobanchaceae. Bartsias steal nutrition from the roots of nearby hays and herbs, despite the fact that it also assimilates itself. A hemiparasitic way of life helps those annuals complete their full life cycle in the short growing season of the north. Red bartsia begins its flowering time already in June. Like many other plants in the Broomrape family one can follow its appearance as the summer progresses: summer forms have longer nodes and larger flowers than the highly branched autumn form. The spiecies was spotted in Agraffa mountains, Greece.