Melampyrum nemorosum is an herbaceous

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 of the genus Melampyrum

Melampyrum

Melampyrum is a genus of about 10-20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

in the family Orobanchaceae

Orobanchaceae

Orobanchaceae, the broomrape family, is a family of flowering plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato...

.

It is native to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. In Sweden, it is called "Natt och Dag" meaning 'Night and Day', due to its combination of bright yellow and dark blue colours. They flower between June to July, and are annual plants. The newest leaves are blue and turn green as they mature. They are usually toothed towards the base of the leaves.