Melampyrum is a genus of about 10-20 species of herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae

Orobanchaceae

Orobanchaceae, the broomrape family, is a family of flowering plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato...

, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. They are hemiparasites on other plants, obtaining some mineral nutrients from the host plant, though they are able to survive on their own without parasitising other plants.

Melampyrum species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including Mouse Moth

Mouse Moth

The Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species. The forewings are uniform dark brown with three blackish spots arranged in a triangle. The hindwings are buffish, darker towards the...

.

Selected species

• Melampyrum arvense (Field Cow-wheat). Europe
  Europe
  Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
  
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• Melampyrum cristatum (Crested Cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum klebelsbergianum. Asia
  Asia
  Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
  
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• Melampyrum laxum. Asia.
• Melampyrum lineare
  Melampyrum lineare
  Melampyrum lineare or narrowleaf cow wheat is a hemiparasitic plant native to North America, especially southern Canada through the eastern United States. Leaves have two forms. Lower on the plant leaves are linear. Below the flowers, leaves have two pointed lobes behind the usual linear structure....
  
  (Narrowleaf Cow-wheat). North America
  North America
  North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
  
  .
• Melampyrum nemorosum
  Melampyrum nemorosum
  Melampyrum nemorosum is an herbaceous flowering plant of the genus Melampyrum in the family Orobanchaceae.It is native to Europe. In Sweden, it is called "Natt och Dag" meaning 'Night and Day', due to its combination of bright yellow and dark blue colours. They flower between June to July, and are...
  
  (Wood Cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum pratense
  Melampyrum pratense
  Melampyrum pratense or Common Cow-wheat is a plant species of the genus Melampyrum. This plant has an interesting relationship with ants. It produces a sugary liquid from small glands under its petals, which wood ants feed on...
  
  (Common Cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum roseum. Asia.
• Melampyrum sylvaticum
  Melampyrum sylvaticum
  Melampyrum sylvaticum is a plant species in the genus Melampyrum....
  
  (Small Cow-wheat). Europe.