Melampyrum lineare Desr. Cow-wheat, narrowleaf cowwheat
Cow-wheat is a North American native plant. Like other members of the figwort family, cow-wheat is hemiparasitic: it derives some of its energy from sunlight and some by attaching its roots to nearby plants' roots and parasitizing them. Identification: Plants are 3-16″ (7.6-40 cm) tall, usually branched, hairless or with fine hairs. Cow-wheat's small size and low-key flowers makes it easily overlooked, but it is very common on forest floors in many parts of North America. Leaves are opposite, ¾-2″ (2-6 cm) long, usually smooth edged (entire) and sometimes with teeth near the base. They and long and narrow to lance-shaped (linear to lanceolate). Flowers are cream-colored, sometimes with a touch of pink, ¼-⅜″ (8-12 mm) long, and tubular, with a yellow lower lip. They appear from June to August. Fruits are blackish, curved, flattened capsules. Medical: An infusion made from the plant was once used by the Ojibwe Indians as a "little medicine for the eyes." Online References:
The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site 7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 6/14/2016 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bea, Brookline, New Hampshire 7/12/2019 · Cornelia and Florence Bridge Nature Preserve, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm) 7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm)
Melampyrum lineare description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 21 Aug 2020. © FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved. |
7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) 8/3/2009 · 111 Near 119, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 7/24/2023 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine 7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) Range:
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