Parentucellia commemorates Tomaso Parentucelli the founder of the Rome botanic gardens.
Viscosa means viscid or sticky.
Sticky Bartsia because it is sticky to touch and it was previously in the Bartsia genus.
Summary:
An erect, opposite leaved, usually annual herb to 50 cm tall and covered with viscid hairs, making the plant sticky to the touch. It has 2 lipped, hooded yellow flowers from August to January in spikes at the top of the plant.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two
Leaves:
Opposite.
Petiole - None.
Blade - Egg to lance shaped or narrowly triangular, 7-40 mm long by 3-15 mm wide, shallowly 7-11 toothed. Acute tip.
Stems:
Erect, rigid, 100-500 mm tall, branched from base or simple, light green, sticky to touch. Glandular, multicellular hairs and sometimes with rough non glandular hairs.
Flower head:
Solitary flowers in the axils of upper leaves at the ends of the stems form an open, leafy, spike like raceme.
Flowers:
Yellow, sticky to touch.
Ovary -
Calyx - Tubular, 9-15 mm long, thin, 14 veined with 4 equal lobes narrowly triangular with rounded tips, 4.5-7 mm long, about as long as tube. Almost acute tipped.
Corolla (Petals) - Yellow, 17- 19 mm long, much longer than the calyx, tubular and 2 lipped. Upper lip is hooded and either notched or smooth edged. Lower lip with 3 lobes. Hairy.
Stamens - 4, 2 long and 2 short.
Anthers - Pointed at the base. Woolly on the back with a tiny point.
Fruit:
Egg shaped capsule, 10-12 mm long by 4-5 mm wide. Hairy. Opens by 2 valves at the top.
Seeds:
Numerous, tiny, smooth.
Roots:
Taproot.
Key Characters:
Flowers yellow, 17-19 mm long and much longer than the calyx. Capsule egg shaped and hairy. Leave lance shaped. Stems stouter and rigid.
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual rarely biennial.
Physiology:
Semi parasitic on the roots of other plants.
Reproduction:
By seed.
Flowering times:
October to January in SA.
August to November in Perth.
Spring in WA.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
None.
Hybrids:
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread by seed.
Origin and History:
Mediterranean region. Western Europe.
Distribution:
NSW, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Temperate. Mediterranean.
Soil:
Wet areas.
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Detrimental:
Common weed of sparse, poor pastures in high rainfall areas.
Weeds of wet areas and disturbed areas.
Semi parasitic on the roots of other plants.
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Remove isolated plants manually before flowering.
Herbicide resistance:
Biological Control:
Related plants:
Common Bartsia (Parentucellia latifolia) has red flowers, deeper lobed leaves, less sticky and darker stems and the seed pod is hairless and cylindrical.
Plants of similar appearance:
White Bartsia (Bellardia trixago) has white flowers.
References:
Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P773.
Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J. and Lloyd, S.G. (1997). Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. (Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia). P216. Photo.
Lamp, C. and Collet, F. (1990). A Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne). P200.
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #931.2.
Marchant, N.G., Wheeler, J.R., Rye, B.L., Bennett, E.M., Lander, N.S. and Macfarlane, T.D. (1987). Flora of the Perth Region. (Western Australian Herbarium, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia). P589.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.