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Mens en Milieu

Regulations   Grazing   Cattle   Horses and ponies   Mowing   

Louseworts

size:

common: 8 to 25 centimeters
marsh: 8 to 60 centimeters

color:

common: pink, sometimes white
marsh: pink-red, sometimes yellowish or white

blossoms:

common: May and June
marsh: May through September

pollination:

bumblebees

reproduction:

common: seed spread by ants
marsh: seed spread by water

lifespan:

common: biennial, sometimes perennial
marsh: annual, often biennal

  • Ned: Heidekartelblad
  • Lat: Pedicularis sylvatica
  • Eng: Common lousewort
  • Fra: Pediculaire des bois
  • Dui: Wald-Läusekraut
  • Dan: Mose-troldurt
  • Dut: Moeraskartelblad
  • Lat: Pedicularis palustris
  • Eng: Marsh Lousewort, European Purple Lousewort
  • Fren: Pediculaire des marais
  • Ger: Sumpf-Läusekraut
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Moeraskartelblad, Ecomare, Sytske Dijksen

Louseworts

Louseworts are all partial parasites. One used to believe that livestock were infested with louse when they ate these plants, which explains the name. Louseworts belonged to the the figwort family, but since recently it has been accepted by many plant authorities as a genus of the broomrape family. The only two lousewort species found in the lowlands of Northwestern Europe are the common and marsh lousewort. Both species form winter buds. Their seeds do not remain long viable. While common lousewort seeds can wait up to two years to germinate, marsh lousewort seeds hardly last longer than one season.

  • Common lousewort
    Common lousewort, Ecomare

    Common lousewort has become a rare plant in the Netherlands. It grows best on damp sunny and nutrient-poor areas; on heather fields, grasslands, meadows, peat bogs and marshes. The distribution area of common lousewort has grown much smaller due to over-fertilization, acidification and dehydration. The plant can only survive in low-growth vegetation, such as a meadow that is kept short by grazing or mowing.

  • Marsh Lousewort

    Marsh lousewort has also become a rare plant in the Netherlands. It is found primarily on the Wadden Islands and two belts in the eastern and central Netherlands. Marsh lousewort seeds can drift for several months in water before finding a place to germinate. The plant grows best on damp soil with moss-rich grass and sedge species. Should the dampness disappear due to drainage or other reasons, marsh lousewort will also disappear.

    The vegetation around marsh lousewort plants are obviously affected by this half-parasite. It doesn't grow very high. Marsh lousewort doesn't like shade, so it not only uses the surrounding vegetation for food, it also tries to keep these plants from overshadowing it. Younger generations of marsh lousewort seeds must germinate farther away from the mother plant since the older generation has weakened the vegetation upon which it parasitizes.

    Rabbits like to eat the leaves and stems of this plant.