Euphrasia nemorosa (Common eyebright)

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Euphrasia nemorosa (Pers.) Wallr.

Common eyebright

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Orobanchaceae	Broomrape family of parasitic plants
Genus	Euphrasia	Medieval Latin eufrasia, from Greek euphrasía, “cheerfulness, gladness”
Species	nemorosa	Growing in groves or woods

About plant names...

Common eyebright is a North American native. It appears in anthropogenic (i.e. human-disturbed) habitats. It is hemiparasitic: it derives part of its energy by siphoning it from other plants, in this case the roots of some grasses. The rest comes from photosynthesis as with most plants. The name “eyebright” reflects its use at one time to treat eye diseases and improve vision.

Plants: 4-15" (10-38 cm) in height, heavily branched. Usually it is less than 6" (15 cm) high, and easy to miss.

Leaves: ⅛-½" (5-15 mm) long, sessile, with 7-11 coarse teeth.

Flowers: Flowers are ¼-½" (8-13 mm) long, generally tubular, and have bilateral symmetry. Flowers are white or pale lavendar. They are easily overlooked due to their small size, but close examination reveals purple lines and a yellow spot in the throat, three notched lower lips, and an upper lip with two lobes.

Fruits: Seeds are ¹/₃₂-¹/₁₆" (1-2 mm) long, and narrowly winged.

Online References:

Web.ewu.edu (Excellent photos)

Fall Wildflowers of New England

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Accs.uaa.alaska.edu

9/15/2016 · Cadillac Mountain Summit, Acadia, Bar Harbor, Maine

8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine
≈ 2 × 3" (5.7 × 8.5 cm)

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Massachusetts
≈ 3½ × 4½" (8.8 × 11 cm)

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Massachusetts
≈ 3 × 4" (7.6 × 10 cm)

Euphrasia americana auct. p.p.

Euphrasia arctica Lange ex Rostr. ssp. borealis (Townsend) Yeo

Euphrasia borealis (Townsend) Wettst.

Euphrasia canadensis auct. non Townsend

Euphrasia curta (Fr.) Wettst.

Euphrasia pectinata auct. non Ten.

Euphrasia tatarica auct. non Fisch. ex Spreng.

Euphrasia officinalis auct. non L.

Euphrasia nemorosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Sep 2023.

9/15/2016 · Cadillac Mountain Summit, Acadia, Bar Harbor, Maine

8/8/2021 · Eaton Farm Preserve, Wiscasset, Maine
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine
≈ 2 × 3" (5.9 × 8.4 cm)

9/17/2016 · Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor, Maine

8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine
≈ 3 × 2" (7.4 × 5.7 cm)

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Massachusetts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (8.9 × 9.7 cm)

8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine
≈ 3½ × 6" (9.5 × 14 cm)

Range:

About this map...