Crested Cow-wheat
Melampyrum cristatum
Melampyrum cristatum, also known as crested cow-wheat is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melampyrum_cristatum
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Lamiales
Family
Orobanchaceae
Genus
Melampyrum
Crested Cow-wheat belongs to the family Orobanchaceae, order Lamiales, within the Magnoliopsida class.
Species Profile
Melampyrum cristatum, also known as crested cow-wheat is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae.
Crested Cow-wheat is declining primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized grassland and woodland edge environments. Agricultural intensification, changes in traditional land management practices, and succession of open habitats to closed woodland have significantly reduced suitable habitat availability.
Key Facts
Habitat & Distribution
M. cristatum is native to the following places: Albania, Altai, Austria, the Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Crete, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, North Caucasus, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Siberia (western), Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (European), Ukraine, Yugoslavia. It has also been...
Threats
IUCN Red List: Endangered
Crested Cow-wheat is declining primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized grassland and woodland edge environments. Agricultural intensification, changes in traditional land management practices, and succession of open habitats to closed woodland have significantly reduced suitable habitat availability.
Agricultural intensification and conversion
Loss of traditional extensive grazing management
Changes in fire management regimes
Fragmentation of remaining suitable habitats
Habitat succession from grassland to woodland
Community Sightings
Report a sightingNo community sightings yet. Be the first to report!
Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Crested Cow-wheat (Melampyrum cristatum). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/crested-cow-wheat