Rhinanthus minor 小鼻花, 小黃鼻, 小佛甲草

Common name: Yellow-rattle
Scientific name: Rhinanthus minor 小鼻花, 小黃鼻, 小佛甲草*
Genus: Rhinanthus 鼻花屬
Family: Orobanchaceae 列當科, broomrape family

Origin: native

Remarks*: It is a hemiparasite on the roots of grass. It is formerly placed in Scrophulariaceae 玄參科, the figwort family. 

Date: 26th July

Flowers in terminal leafy spike.

Leaves

It is similar to the Greater yellow-rattle, Rhinanthus angustifolius 窄葉鼻花, but the latter has paler green calyx, longer corolla, 17-20 mm whereas yellow-rattle, Rhinanthus minor, has darker green calyx, shorter corcolla, 12-15 mm.

It has a straight dorsal edge of corolla tube (the white structure above) whereas the Greater yellow-rattle, Rhinanthus angustifolius, has its dorsal edge of corolla tube concave towards base (curving upwards).

Stigma could be seen in the top middle flower . The two teeth (the purple structures above) of each flower are wider than they are long,  whereas the Greater yellow-rattle, Rhinanthus angustifolius, has the two teeth longer than wide.

Fruits: calyx (the brown structure above) is strongly inflated now.

Spit open fruit and seeds could be seen now.