342 THE SCROPHULARIA FAMILY.  [Melampyrum. 
coloured bracts; the flowers yellow, purple or variegated, either axillary — 
or in terminal leafy spikes. Calyx tubular or campanulate, with 4 
teeth. Corolla with a distinct tube; the upper lip compressed, entire or 
with a small tooth or lobe on each side in front; the lower lip spreading, 
with 3 short lebes, and a more or less projecting palate closing the mouth 
of the tube or nearly so, Capsule ovate, oblique, with from 1 to 4 oblong 
seeds. 
A small but distinct genus, confined to Europe and northern Asia. 
Flowers variegated with purple, in short leafy spikes. 
Spikes closely imbricated, 4-sided. Floral leaves broadly cor- 
date and finely toothed . : s > é . i 
Spikes oblong, rather loose. Floral leaves ovate, acuminate, 
with long slender teeth . ‘ : : 3 ; « 2. M. arvense. 
Flowers yellow, in distant axillary pairs, all turned one way. 
Upper floral leaves toothed at the base. Flowers pale yellow, 
6 lines long or more . 4 . . ‘ : : . . & MM. pratense. 
Floral leaves all entire. Flowers deep yellow, 3 or 4lines long 4. M. sylvaticum. 
1. M.cristatum, Linn, (fig. 771). Crested Melampyre.—Stem simple, 
or with a few broadly-spreading opposite branches 8 inches to a foot high, 
Leaves lanceolate or linear and entire, or the upper ones toothed at the base. 
Flowers in a densely imbricated 4-sided spike, 1 to 14 inches long; the 
floral leaves or bracts under each flower short and broad, finely but shortly 
toothed, and of a clear pink or purplish colour at the bise. Corolla yellow, 
more or less variegated with purple, about 6 lines long. 
In ‘woods and thickets, over nearly the whole of Europe and Russian 
Asia, but not so common as some other species. In Britain, chiefly confined 
to eastern England. £7. summer. 7 
2. M.arvense, Linn. (fig. 772). Purple Melampyre, Cowwheat.—A 
taller and handsomer plant than M. eristatum, and usually covered witha 
very short close down. Leaves lanceolate, toothed at the base. Flowers 
in a long, loose, leafy spike, beautifully variegated ; the bracts often longer 
than the flowers, at first pink, turning green as they advance, and bor- 
dered by long slender teeth. Calyx purplish green, with similar long teeth. 
Corolla 6 to 8 lines long, with a pink tube, a bright yellow throat, and 
deep-red lips. 
In -cornfields, in temperate Europe, from south Sweden to the Cau- 
casus, often proving very injurious to the crops. In Britain, hitherto con- 
fined to a few localities in south-eastern England and in Norfolk. 7. 
summer. 
3. MM. pratense, Linn. (fig. 773). Common Melampyre.—Stem erect 
or ascending, 6 inches to a foot high, with very spreading, opposite branches, 
usually glabrous or nearly so. Leaves lanceolate, the floral ones distant 
from each other, short, and often toothed at the base. Flowers pure 
yellow, in distant axillary pairs, all turned one way, and about 6 to 8 lines 
long; the teeth of the calyx usually erect and shorter than the tube, but 
they vary much both in length and direction. 
Chiefly in woods, throughout Europe and Russian Asia, Abundant in 
Britain. F7. summer and autumn. 
1, M. cristatum, 
4, M. sylvaticum, Linn. (fig. 774). Small-flowered Melampyre. 
—Very near M. pratense, and not always easy to distinguish from it, 
It is usually a smaller plant, with the floral leaves almost always entire, and 
