Euphrasia nemorosa (Pers.) Wallr.
Common eyebright
Common eyebright is a North American native. 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.
Habitats: Anthropogenic (i.e. human-disturbed) habitats, meadows, and fields.
Online References:
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) 
9/15/2016 · Cadillac Mountain Summit, Acadia, Bar Harbor, Maine 
8/8/2021 · Eaton Farm Preserve, Wiscasset, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
9/14/2023 · Nature Conservancy Access Trail, Sprague Pond, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 1¾ × 2″ (5 × 5.9 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) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 |
Euphrasia nemorosa description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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