Lathraea (toothwort) is a small genus of five to seven species of flowering plants, native to temperate Europe and Asia. They are parasitic plants on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking chlorophyll. They are classified in the family Orobanchaceae. In Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov's "In the Forests" a Russian wise woman (znakharka) calls this plant Peter's Cross and says it protects against devils but only if collected with a prayer to God.