Purple Eyebright - native (Euphrasia collina)

Family: Orobanchaceae (Orobanch family).

Native.

Occurrence: Rare.

Identification:

• it has erect slender stems
• the leaves are in opposite pairs
• the flowers are two lipped and pale purple.

Purple Eyebright has numerous subspecies, many of which are rare and endangered. The photo here (1999) was taken on Fryers Ridge without determining the variety present. Subsequent searches have failed to find this population, and it may well now be extinct there. Purple Eyebright has also been recorded from Muckleford, a little north of the Red White and Blue Mine.

Name. Euphrasia: Greek for cheefulness, the juice from some species was supposed to brighten eyes; hence the common name Eyebright.