Melampyrum arvense
speciesAt a glance
Sources15 archives
Databases and archives Melampyrum arvense's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation9 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility51 745 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics11 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
dukesphytochemcompounds
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Melampyrum arvense, commonly known as field cow-wheat, is an herbaceous flowering plant of the genus Melampyrum in the family Orobanchaceae. It is striking because of the conspicuous spike of pink or purple terminal bracts which includes the flowers. The Latin specific epithet arvense means "growing in cultivated fields".
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology10
Life cycle & reproduction14
Diet & foraging2
Habitat & environment11
Physiology & chemistry7
Other traits1
Compounds documented for Melampyrum arvense across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile2 classes
Documented compounds9 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUCUBIN | 30 ppm | DukesPhytochem |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Melampyrum arvense has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Melampyrum arvense carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 1811×CCDB · slov-fl · CCDB · nw-europe-fl · CCDB · fl-europaea +6
n 93×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn73-74
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type51 745 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions50 of 121 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Uniwersytet Wrocławskilocation not on record | 571 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 313 |
| LDlocation not on record | 268 |
| BFLlocation not on record | 224 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 140 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 126 |
| Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitat Greifswaldlocation not on record | 115 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 92 |
| South Kensington, GB | 88 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 82 |
| Tartu, EE | 57 |
| GJOlocation not on record | 52 |
| Philadelphia, US | 44 |
| Tallinn, EE | 42 |
| Bern, CH | 41 |
| GBS RAN - Glavny Botanichesky Sad Rossijskoj Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 39 |
| Uppsala, SE | 35 |
| Turku, FI | 33 |
| LfUlocation not on record | 30 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 26 |
| BMlocation not on record | 26 |
| Berlin, DE | 25 |
| Salzburg, AT | 21 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 20 |
| Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicachlocation not on record | 20 |
| Wlocation not on record | 17 |
| Kew, GB | 16 |
| PRClocation not on record | 15 |
| UGentlocation not on record | 15 |
| BRNUlocation not on record | 14 |
| Zürich, CH | 13 |
| Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiejlocation not on record | 11 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 11 |
| Mlocation not on record | 11 |
| Dresden, DE | 11 |
| Staatliches Museum fuer Naturkunde Karlsruhe (State Museum of Natural History)location not on record | 10 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 9 |
| Karlsruhe, DE | 8 |
| Uniwersytet Opolskilocation not on record | 8 |
| Zürich, CH | 8 |
| LIVlocation not on record | 7 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 7 |
| Görlitz, DE | 6 |
| SZUlocation not on record | 6 |
| Porrentruy, CH | 5 |
| MAlocation not on record | 5 |
| Fulda, DE | 5 |
| Porvoo, FI | 5 |
| Instytut Ochrony Przyrody Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 5 |
| Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowielocation not on record | 4 |
| Bourges, FR | 4 |
| València, ES | 4 |
| Salamanca, ES | 4 |
| Oulu, FI | 4 |
| Wellington, NZ | 3 |
| Cambridge University Herbariumlocation not on record | 3 |
| Podgorica, ME | 3 |
| TUR-Alocation not on record | 3 |
| No collectionlocation not on record | 3 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 3 |
| Stockholm, SE | 3 |
| Durham, US | 3 |
| John May Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 3 |
| H-Schuhwlocation not on record | 3 |
| PrivatHerblocation not on record | 3 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 3 |
| Sion, CH | 2 |
| Bronx, US | 2 |
| Olocation not on record | 2 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 2 |
| Uniwersytet Warszawskilocation not on record | 2 |
| KMNlocation not on record | 2 |
| Samara National Research Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| FLADlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Birminghamlocation not on record | 2 |
| Conservatoire botanique national du Bassin parisienlocation not on record | 2 |
| BIRM|BMlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Readinglocation not on record | 2 |
| Helsinki, FI | 2 |
| Finnish Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 2 |
| BG-NMNHSlocation not on record | 1 |
| Taipei, TW | 1 |
| K|RNGlocation not on record | 1 |
| SNSNMClocation not on record | 1 |
| Dekalb, US | 1 |
| Universidad de La Salle (La Salle)location not on record | 1 |
| CICYTEXlocation not on record | 1 |
| Lausanne, CH | 1 |
| Glarus, CH | 1 |
| Xiamen, CN | 1 |
| Tilburg, NL | 1 |
| Paris, FR | 1 |
| Tromso University Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Badajoz, ES | 1 |
| Musée des Confluenceslocation not on record | 1 |
| Naturalis Biodiversity Centerlocation not on record | 1 |
| DBF-NHMDlocation not on record | 1 |
| Kuopio, FI | 1 |
| UniKSlocation not on record | 1 |
| BIRM|BM|CGE|Klocation not on record | 1 |
| BIRM|Klocation not on record | 1 |
| Universität Erlangen-Nürnberglocation not on record | 1 |
| BM|NMWlocation not on record | 1 |
| Barcelona, ES | 1 |
| Jyväskylä, FI | 1 |
| NMWlocation not on record | 1 |
| Trondheim, NO | 1 |
| BClocation not on record | 1 |
| Winterthur, CH | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
| Boise, US | 1 |
| BM|Klocation not on record | 1 |
| Minia, EG | 1 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight Naturalists' Trust Ltd.location not on record | 1 |
| Tulane Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Saint Louis, US | 1 |
| H-AkrKGlocation not on record | 1 |
| CGE|Klocation not on record | 1 |
| NMBU:MINAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Columbia, US | 1 |
| Wardown House, Museum & Gallerylocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Melampyrum arvense was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.