Melampyrum cristatum   Crested Cow-wheat RRR DD N

melampyrum cristatum whole melampyrum cristatum close

An unremarkable roadside verge in the depths of the East Anglian countryside was the place to look for this plant which had been living on this site for decades. It has a quite odd looking flower with a typical Melampyrum shape but with elaborate coloured, toothed, curved bracts hiding the buds. It is one of those plants you really can't confuse with anything else.

M. cristatum is found in a rather small area of inland East Anglia and almost nowhere else in the British Isles.

Melampyrum cristatum

Melampyrum cristatum Crested Cow-wheat

Roadside verge, deepest Suffolk 18th June 2005

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Melampyrum cristatum Crested Cow-wheat

Roadside verge, deepest Suffolk 18th June 2005

Added on 19th June 2005, updated December 21st 2010, updated 19th January 2017

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