Melampyrum cristatum - Crested Cow-wheat
Crested Cow-wheat in Cambridgeshire
This lovely wildflower is found in grassland and is semi-parasitic on other plants. It is now very rare in the UK, being confined to East Anglia.
This annual plant has densely-packed flower heads with toothed bracts which are deep rose-purple in colour. The flowers are purple and yellow. Despite its glorious colouring it is an inconspicuous plant that is hard to spot among summer grasses.
A colony of Melampyrum cristatum. Because it is an annual plant the numbers that occur each year may vary considerably.
Crested Cow-wheat does best in open ancient woodland rides but also grows on a few roadside verges.
Other Cow-wheats that flower in Britain and Europe include Common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense, Field Cow-wheat Melampyrum arvense, Melampyrum scardicum and Melampyrum nemerosum.
The plant grows to around 50cm in height and flowers during July and August.
A close up of Crested Cow-wheat reveals the intricate 'stack' of bracts from which the individual flowers emerge