Crested Cow-Wheat Melampyrum cristatum
Crested Cow-Wheat (Melampyrum cristatum) is one of Britain’s rarest plants, now confined to a small number of sites nationally, the majority of which are in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a hemi-parasitic annual of ancient hedgerow bases, woodland edges, and ride margins on chalky or base-rich soils. Suffolk is the species’ most important county, holding the bulk of the UK population, with key sites concentrated in the boulder clay woodlands of the south and west. Its survival depends on sensitive management of hedgerows and woodland edges, avoiding excessive cutting or shading during the growing season. Image: © Natural England/Neil Pike, Flickr.
Find out more: iNaturalist, First Nature, Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora, Suffolk LNRS information page
Suffolk’s Priority Fern and Flowering Plant Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
