Scientific name: Euphrasia tetraquetra (Bréb). Arrond.
Common name: Eyebright
Description
Habit: A small hemiparasitic annual, to 15 cm high, compact.
Stems: Erect, stout, with 0-5 pairs of short, erect or semi-erect branches, sometimes branched again.
Leaves: Stalkless, toothed, without stipules, rather fleshy; upper leaves alternate, lower leaves opposite.
Flowers: White or lilac with yellow patch on the lower lip of corolla, zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, stalkless in axils of upper leaves often forming a dense, 4-sided and terminal spike, lowest flower at node 5-7; calyx of 4 sepals fused, with 4 undivided and finely pointed lobes; corolla of 4 petals fused into 2-lips, 5-7 mm across, with a slender corolla tube, upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip deeply 3-lobed with notched lobes; stamens 4, borne on corolla tube; ovary superior, 2-celled, style 1.
Fruits: A capsule with many seeds, twice as long as broad, with long fine hairs.
Euphrasia is a difficult group, the species boundaries complicated by hybridisation. Several plants are necessary for identification.
Habitat: Cliff-tops, stabilised dunes and grassland near the sea, rarely inland on limestone. Distribution: Frequent on exposed coastal areas, rather rare elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No