In the hills above my home, there are some lovely wildflowers that I don’t get to see anywhere else but I need to be careful where I put my feet because some of them are tiny.
One such flower is the Lousewort, with blooms only as large as my thumbnail, barely growing above the rough grasses that cover the windswept hillsides.
The Lousewort is a fascinating flower with three horizontal petals and a third petal (or perhaps third and fourth petal fused together) formed like a hood above the lower petals.
It likes soggy, poorly drained soil, preferably acidic. It can’t compete with other plants in more ideal growing conditions so it has settled into its own little niche that many plants can’t tolerate.
What makes it really interesting is its semi-parasitic nature. Its roots have ‘suckers’ that attach themselves to the roots of the grasses it grows in and steals the sap of its unfortunate neighbours.
The name, “Lousewort” comes from the ancient belief that sheep that ate the flowers would become infested with lice.
About the drawing
I drew this on an A4 sheet of plain copier paper with a Lamy Al-Star (bronze), fitted with a fine nib.
The ink is Diamine Dark Forest.
It took about 60 minutes to complete.