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Odontites vulgaris

red odontites

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

Overview

Odontites vulgaris, red bartsia, is a slender, hemiparasitic annual in the broomrape family, growing 4-20 inches (10-50 cm) tall with branched, often reddish stems clothed in short downward-pointing hairs. As a partial parasite, it makes its own food through green leaves but also taps the roots of nearby grasses for water and minerals through underground connections. The narrow, lance-shaped leaves are toothed and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are dull pinkish-purple, about 0.3-0.4 inch (8-10 mm) long, two-lipped, and arranged in one-sided leafy spikes that nod to one side. They open from the base of the spike upward through summer. The whole plant often takes on a dull reddish or bronze tint, especially in dry, open sites. After flowering it sets small seed capsules and dies, completing its cycle in one season. It grows in grassland, field margins, road verges, tracks, and disturbed ground, usually on heavier, damp soils. Native to Europe and temperate Asia, it is a common late-summer plant of rough grassland and a nectar source for bees.

Native Range

Native to Europe and temperate Asia, from Britain eastward across Russia, and introduced in parts of North America. It grows in meadows, grassy field margins, road verges, tracks, and disturbed ground, usually on heavier, moist soils.

Suggested Uses

Used in wildflower meadow and grassland restoration, especially in schemes aimed at supporting bees, since its roots also suppress vigorous grasses and help diversify the sward. It is not grown as a border plant.

How to Identify

Identified by slender, branched reddish stems with short downward hairs, narrow toothed leaves in opposite pairs, and one-sided leafy spikes of dull pinkish-purple two-lipped flowers about 0.3-0.4 inch (8-10 mm) long. The flowers and bracts all lean to one side of the stem. The overall reddish tint and grassland habit separate it from similar mint-family plants.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 1'8"

Width/Spread4" - 10"

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~10 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowers from midsummer to early autumn, mainly July to September, opening from the base of each one-sided spike upward. The dull purplish-pink flowers are worked steadily by bees, including specialist solitary bees. Seed capsules ripen and shed before the plant dies in autumn.

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

green to reddish

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 5-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

clay loam silt

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Odontites vulgaris is a wild hemiparasitic annual rarely brought into cultivation, since it grows alongside host grasses whose roots it taps. It favors open, sunny grassland on damp, heavy soils and self-sows into short or disturbed turf. It needs no feeding or watering and completes its life cycle in a single season. In meadow plantings it is sown with grasses rather than alone, because seedlings establish better with a host nearby. It can decline where turf grows tall and shades it out.

Pruning

No pruning applies to this annual. Plants die after setting seed in autumn and are not cut back individually. In a managed meadow, a late cut after seed has shed keeps the surrounding sward open for the next generation.