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Melampyrum lineare
Also called American Cow Wheat, Linear Cow Wheat, Narrow Leaved Cow Wheat, Narrowleaf Cow Wheat
Narrowleaf cowwheat is a small native annual herb that partly parasitizes the roots of nearby plants while also photosynthesizing. It grows in dry, acidic woodland edges and is seldom cultivated, so it is grown mainly for native or wildlife plantings.
Melampyrum lineare, commonly called the narrowleaf cow wheat, is an herbaceous plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to North America, where it is found in southern Canada and the northern United States, with an extension south in the Appalachian Mountains. It has a wide habitat tolerance, but is usually found in dry, acidic soil and somewhat exposed woodlands.
This species is hemiparasitic, meaning it receives energy from both photosynthesis and root parasitism. It is an herbaceous plant that grows in clumps about a 12 inches high. Its leaves are opposite and lanceolate to linear. It produces tubular cream-colored flowers in the summer. The seeds have elaisomes that attracts ants that act as seed dispersals.
Field cow-wheat · Crested Cow-wheat · Ivan Da Maria · Common cow-wheat · Small Cow Wheat · Cow Wheat
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Melampyrum lineare by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
