Odontites verna, (Bellardi) Dumort.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 268

15. O. verna (Bellardi) Dumort. , FZ. Belg. 32 (1827)

( O. rubra Besser ).

Appressed-pubescent to strigulose annual. Stem 10-50 cm, erect or ascending, somewhat 4-angled, simple or branched. Leaves 12-40x3-8 mm, lanceolate, crenate to serrate, rarely subentire. Inflorescences 3-10 cm, rather lax; flowers subsessile. Calyx 5-8 mm; teeth triangular, obtuse. Corolla 8-10 mm, pubescent, reddish-pink (rarely white); tube 5-6 mm; lower lip somewhat deflexed. Anthers glabrous, more or less exserted. Capsule 6-8 mm, oblong, pubescent. Meadows, pastures, roadsides, cultivated fields and other disturbed habitats. M ost o f Europe, but absent from some o f the islands. All except Az BI Cr Fa Is Sa Sb.

Very variable; the variation is, however, difficult to express adequately in infraspecific categories. There are local populations of distinct facies, and also some fairly well-marked ecotypes; apart from this the species is often cited as an illustration of seasonal dimorphism. The three best-known and most widespread variants are here treated as subspecies, but intermediate plants are fairly common, especially in N.C. Europe. Studies of cultivated plants and chromosome counts from different regions are required before the complex can be properly understood.

1 Bracts not exceeding flowers; branches usually long and

± patent (c) subsp. serotina 1 Bracts exceeding flowers; branches (if present) usually short and suberect

2Stem usually simple; lower intemodes longer than leaves

(b) subsp. litoralis 2 Stem usually with several suberect branches; lower intemodes shorter than or equalling leaves (a) subsp. verna