Melampyrum

Melampyrum
Melampyrum nemorosum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Orobanchaceae
Tribe:	Rhinantheae
Genus:	Melampyrum L.
Species
about 20, see text.

Melampyrum saxosum

Melampyrum is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae known commonly as cow wheat. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are hemiparasites on other plants, obtaining water and nutrients from host plants, though some are able to survive on their own without parasitising other plants.[1]

Melampyrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the mouse moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis).

Phylogeny

The phylogeny of the genera of Rhinantheae has been explored using molecular characters.[2][3] Melampyrum appears as a distant relative of other genera of Rhinantheae. It is the sister group of two clades: (i) Rhynchocorys, Lathraea, and Rhinanthus ; and (ii) the core Rhinantheae containing Bartsia, Euphrasia, Tozzia, Hedbergia, Bellardia, and Odontites.

Genus-level cladogram of tribe Rhinantheae.

Rhinantheae               Melampyrum               Rhynchocorys               Lathraea   Rhinanthus   Core Rhinantheae               Bartsia sensu stricto (Bartsia alpina)             Euphrasia             Hedbergia   (including Bartsia decurva + B. longiflora)   Tozzia   Odontites sensu lato   (including Bartsiella   and Bornmuellerantha)             Bellardia             Neobartsia (New World Bartsia)   Parentucellia

The cladogram has been reconstructed from nuclear and plastid DNA molecular characters (ITS, rps16 intron and trnK region).[2][3]

Taxonomy

Selected species

• Melampyrum arvense (field cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum cristatum (crested cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum klebelsbergianum. Asia.
• Melampyrum koreanum.[1] Asia.
• Melampyrum laxum. Asia.
• Melampyrum lineare (narrowleaf cow-wheat). North America.
• Melampyrum nemorosum (wood cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum pratense (common cow-wheat). Europe.
• Melampyrum roseum. Asia.
• Melampyrum saxosum. Europe.
• Melampyrum sylvaticum (small cow-wheat). Europe.

References

1. Kim, K. and S. Yun. (2012). A new species of Melampyrum (Orobanchaceae) from southern Korea. Archived 2024-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Phytotaxa 42 48-50.
2. Těšitel, Jakub; Říha, Pavel; Svobodová, Šárka; Malinová, Tamara; Štech, Milan (2010-10-28). "Phylogeny, Life History Evolution and Biogeography of the Rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae". Folia Geobotanica. 45 (4): 347–367. Bibcode:2010FolGe..45..347T. doi:10.1007/s12224-010-9089-y. ISSN 1211-9520. S2CID 39873516.
3. Scheunert, Agnes; Fleischmann, Andreas; Olano-Marín, Catalina; Bräuchler, Christian; Heubl, Günther (2012-12-14). "Phylogeny of tribe Rhinantheae (Orobanchaceae) with a focus on biogeography, cytology and re-examination of generic concepts". Taxon. 61 (6): 1269–1285. doi:10.1002/tax.616008.

External links