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.
Plants: 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: 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: 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: Blackish, curved, flattened capsules.
Habitats: Open forests, bogs, in peaty, rocky, or sandy soil.
Medical: An infusion made from the plant was once used by the Ojibwe Indians as a “little medicine for the eyes.”
Online References:
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
8/19/2025 · Saunders Memorial Park, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm) 
7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm) 
6/14/2016 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bea, Brookline, New Hampshire 
7/12/2019 · Cornelia and Florence Bridge Nature Preserve, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 5 × 4″ (12 × 11 cm) 
5/25/2023 · Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, Brunswick, Maine 
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 20 cm) 
7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 4½″ (8.9 × 11 cm) 
7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 7″ (23 × 18 cm) 
7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (26 × 16 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 · ≈ 7 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
7/24/2023 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine 
7/11/2012 · Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4½″ (11 × 11 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Orobanchaceae | Broomrape family of parasitic plants |
| Genus | Melampyrum | From Greek melas, “black,” and pyros, “wheat,” for the black seeds |
| Species | lineare | “Linear,” for the long narrow leaves |
Melampyrum lineare description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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