Johnny-Tuck

Description

Triphysaria eriantha is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family, known by the common names johnny-tuck and butter-and-eggs. It is native to California and southwestern Oregon, where it grows in many types of habitats including chaparral, becoming quite common in some areas. This plant is an annual herb producing a hairy purple stem up to about 35 centimeters in maximum height. Like many species in its family, it is a facultative root parasite on other plants, attaching to their roots via haustoria to tap nutrients. Its green or purplish leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and are divided into a few narrow, pointed lobes. The inflorescence is a spike of flowers. Each flower has a very thin, narrow upper lip which is purple in color, and a wide lower lip which is divided into three pouches. The color of the pouches depends on subspecies: the common ssp. eriantha has white and bright yellow pouches, and the less common coastal ssp. rosea has white pouches tinged with pink.