Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) - Polish łuskiewnik różowy - is a parasite of many species of tree or shrub such as lime, poplar, sycamore, horse-chestnut, hazel, cherry-laurel, Lawson's cypress, plum, etc.
It has no leaves and no green chlorophyll since it derives all its food for growth from its host tree.
It consists of a branched whitish underground stem closely covered with thick, fleshy, colourless leaves, which are bent over so as to hide under the surface.
The only portions that appear above ground in April to May are the short flower-bearing shoots, which bear a spike of two-lipped dull purple flowers.
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