© Paul Gallagher,
Scottish Wildlife Trust, 2005
Small Cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum) is a small (5-18 cms high), deep-yellow flowered, annual plant of broadleaved, humid, ravine-type woodlands, where it is semi-parasitic on a wide range of plants. It has large seeds that have poor dispersal ability and are susceptible to predation.
Once widespread in Britain and Ireland (over 200 sites) it is now a very rare plant in Britain, restricted to only 22 sites, 19 of which are in Scotland north of the Highland Boundary fault. A genetic study revealed that there is low genetic diversity both within and between the populations. Small cow-wheat would appear to be very vulnerable to the effects of climate change through climate envelope shifts and habitat loss.
Small Cow-wheat is a UKBAP Priority species and a priority for Scotland. Conservation efforts for this species will focus on establishment of genetically diverse populations at a number of new sites within its range in Scotland through a Species Recovery Project. Selection of sites and the production of planting material is currently under discussion.
Melampyrum identification details
Initially it may appear difficult to isolate small cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum) from the common and very variable common cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense), as the two species sometimes grow together despite differences in habitat preference. With a little experience, it soon becomes very easy to see the difference between them. Although the literature suggests a number of characteristics, those below have been found to be the easiest to work with to date:
| Small Cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum) | Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) | |
|---|---|---|
| The Flower (corolla) | Almost always an egg yolk shade of yellow, small, short and broad, with an open mouth and drooping (deflexed) lower lip. | Always much longer than it is broad and although the colour varies from almost white, with or without purple/pink spots, to a fairly deep yellow, its length is always considerably greater than its width. |
| Flowers June to August | Flowers May to September | |
 |  | |
| The Calyx (green structure like that on a tomato surrounding the flower at its base - referred to as bracts with these species in some literature) | Always a fairly bright green, open (spread out and barely touching the flower), star-like and sometimes looking almost fleshy. The lobes are often almost as long as the flower. | Comparatively close to the flower at the base, curving away and upward in a very distinctive manner (a little like an eyelash). |
| The leaves and stems | Almost always bright green, with never more than a hint of red, deep pink or purple except late in the year after the flowers have fallen. | Usually a duller green, often with some deep red/pink or purple and sometimes entirely reddish purple. |
| Size of plant | Although Melampyrum sylvaticum is known as small cow-wheat, this refers to the flower. The stature of the plant is often about the same as that of Melampyrum pratense. | |
| When gone to seed | Late in the season some colour begins to show on stem and leaves of small cow-wheat and could lead to some confusion. However the calyx (bracts) remains distinctive with four spreading, wavy, green lobes (rather than the upturned eyelash-like lobes of M. pratense). The lobes remain separated from the fruit whereas in M. pratense they are appressed to it near the base. | |
Paul Gallagher, Scottish Wildlife Trust, February 2003
Work on this Priority species is led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and has been progressed through a PhD based at Aberdeen University, supported by NERC and Scottish Natural Heritage funding.
Forest Research is represented on the Steering Group, and is hosting this webpage on their behalf.
