Common Cow-wheat

Melampyrum pratense

"Melampyrum pratense", the common cow-wheat, is a plant species in the family Orobanchaceae. The seed of the plant has an elaiosome, which is attractive to wood ants. The ants disperse the seeds of the plant when they take them back to their nests to feed their young. The plant is an ancient woodland indicator, as the ants rarely carry the seeds more than a few yards, seldom crossing a field to go to a new woodland.
Common cow-wheat, - Melampyrum pratense Loch Lomond, Scotland. Geotagged,Melampyrum pratense,Spring,United Kingdom

Appearance

"Melampyrum pratense" is a food plant of the caterpillars of the heath fritillary, a butterfly.

"Melampyrum pratense" herb has been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or externally as pillow filling for treatment of rheumatism and blood vessels calcification.

"Melampyrum pratense" can be parasitized by the oomycete species "Peronospora tranzschelinana".
Common Cow-wheat - Melampyrum pratense Chemin du Narrenstein, Munster. Common Cow-wheat,France,Geotagged,Melampyrum pratense,Spring

Naming

The Latin specific epithet "pratense" means "of meadows".

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderLamiales
FamilyOrobanchaceae
GenusMelampyrum
SpeciesM. pratense
Photographed in
France
United Kingdom
Netherlands