Wood Betony occupies an unusual niche in the plant world: it produces its own chlorophyll and yet taps the roots of nearby grasses and forbs for supplemental nutrition, making it a hemiparasite in the most polite sense. Native from southeastern Canada through the eastern United States and into Mexico, it turns up in open woods, thickets, and woodland clearings across North Carolina, though it remains rare on the coastal plain. The ferny, deeply lobed rosette of leaves is handsome in its own right before the flowers ever appear.

In April through June, a dense spike of two-lipped yellow flowers rises and opens from the bottom up, drawing bees in steadily as each tier opens. Because Wood Betony is somewhat dependent on companion plants, it is best sited in a naturalized setting or open woodland where grasses and other perennials are already established. It prefers average, well-drained soil in sun to partial shade, and once settled into a compatible plant community, it tends to take care of itself.