Flower:

Flowers arise from leaf axils in the upper branches of the plant. Individual flowers are tubular, ¼ to ½ inch long. The upper lip is 2-lobed, shorter than the lower lip and curls up, the lower lip is 3-lobed. The tube is creamy white, the lower lip is yellow and the upper lip is white or yellow.

Leaves:

Leaves are opposite, linear to lance-shaped, up to 2½ inches long, tapering to a pointed tip with little or no leaf stalk. Leaves of var. lineare are less than ¼ inch wide, those of var. americanum are up to 1/3 inch wide.

The leaves just below the flowers at the top of the stem (bracteal leaves) on var. americanum have 2 to 6 large pointed teeth near the base. Those on var. lineare are toothless or nearly so. Stems are slender, obscurely 4-sided and minutely hairy.

Notes:

Cow Wheat tends to grow in clumps as seed does not fall far from the mother plant. It is fairly common in woods and forests in the more northern parts of the state, but is easily missed due to its small stature and small, non-showy flowers. That doesn't make it any less interesting or beautiful. When you are out there, do look down at your feet once in a while. You never know what you might find.