Bartsia, Yellow

Information on Yellow Bartsia

Common Name: Yellow Bartsia
Scientific Name: Parentucellia viscosa
Irish Name: Hocas tae buĂ­
Family Group: Orobanchaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Yellow Bartsia is not easily confused with other wild plants on this web site.


This is a stickily hairy, semi-parasitic annual plant which produces pretty bright yellow two-lipped flowers from June to September.  The flowers (15-30mm long) are open-mouthed, the upper lip hooded, the lower being 3-lobed and are borne in erect leafy spikes, emerging from the leaf axils.  The unstalked leaves are lanceolate and toothed with a pointed apex, being opposite below and alternative above.  This wildflower is to be found growing in damp places and old wet meadows, often near the sea, is a native and belongs to the family Orobanchaceae.

I first came across this plant on Abbey Island, Co Kerry in 1977 and photographed it near Sneem, Co Kerry in 2008.

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

This is a semi-parasitic plant which means that by using haustoria (root-like organs) it can absorb water and minerals from other plants. 

Bartsia, Yellow
Bartsia, Yellow
Bartsia, Yellow