Butter-and-eggs is a member of the figwort family. The flowers are long tubes with three inflated (balloon-like) sacks near the top. In Butter-and-eggs, the sacks are bright yellow.
Note that the multi-lobed bracts (specialized leaves with a flower) of Butter-and-eggs are purple. The other owl’s-clovers at Mather Field have white tipped bracts or solid green bracts.
Fun Facts:
This plant is a hemi-parasite because it taps into the roots of other plants to steal some of the nutrients it needs.
Life Cycle:
Butter-and-eggs is an annual plant, so it dies off every year. It germinates in the middle of winter, but does not grow very much until the weather begins to warm. Butter-and-eggs blooms in March and April.
Ecology:
Butter-and-eggs is a hemi-parasite on annual plants. The tips of its roots tap into the root system of the other plant to rob nutrients. Unlike the Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) which is a true parasite, the Triphysaria can only steal a portion of the nutrients it needs and has to make the rest through photosynthesis.
Most owl’s-clovers require very specific environmental conditions for successful germination and growth. Some years there will be only a few plants and other years there might be millions! Very little is known about how owl’s-clovers are pollinated.
Investigate:
From the shape and coloration of the flower, Butter-and-eggs is probably insect-pollinated. Can you figure out which insect pollinates it? Be sure to look at tiny crawling insects as well as flying ones!
