Euphrasia officinalis L.

Stems 1–4 dm, simple or freely branched, floriferous in the upper 1/3 to 2/3; lvs ovate to suborbicular, 5–15(–20) mm, sharply 3–5-toothed on each margin, glabrous or sometimes hairy beneath; bracteal lvs similar, but the teeth more distinctly subulate or bristle-tipped; cal glabrous or nearly so, the lobes 2.5–3.5 mm at maturity; cor 5–10 mm, typically pale lavender with deeper purple guide-lines, the lower lip also marked with yellow, or seldom the cor deeper violet; upper cor-lip evidently bilobed; fr glabrous or nearly so; seeds 1.3–2 mm; 2n=22, 44. Dry or moist fields, roadsides, and waste places; native of Europe, early intr. into N. Engl., and now well established from Nf. and Que. to Mass., N.Y., and Pa., and inland to Ont. June–Oct. Divided by European botanists into a myriad of scarcely distinguishable microspecies, of which the following have also been attributed to our range: E. borealis, E. curia, E. micrantha, E. nemorosa, E. rigidula, E. stricta, E. tatarica, E. tetraquetra. The names E. americana and E. canadensis were based on intr. forms of this same complex.

Moist grassland and chalky pastures, semi-parasitic on grass.

It has been used to spice soup.

Seed are scattered around host plants. Plants can be grown from seeds. It is best grown among grass as it is a semi parasite living on the roots of other plants.