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attol lousewort, attoll lousewort, elephant snouts, little elephant head, little elephant's head, woolly Mammoth

meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort

Habit Plants 15–78 cm. Plants 10–40 cm.
Leaves

basal 5–25, blade elliptic, 60–150(or 200–250) x 3–23 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate, surfaces glabrous or scattered glands;

cauline 2–20, blade elliptic, 5–50(–100) x 1–5 mm, undivided or 1(or 2)-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate, surfaces glabrous.

basal 8–10, blade narrowly elliptic to linear, 15–40 x 3–6 mm, undivided, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 10–40, blade linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 10–60 x 2–6 mm, undivided, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous.

Racemes

simple, 1–3, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;

bracts lanceolate to triangular, 5–10 x 3–10 mm, pinnatifid, margins entire, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

simple, 1–10, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;

bracts triangular or lanceolate to oblanceolate, 10–15 x 3–4 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal crenate to 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous.

Pedicels

1.2–1.6 mm.

3–3.5 mm.

Flowers

calyx 4–5 mm, glabrous or tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 2–2.5 mm, apex entire, glabrous;

corolla 6–8 mm, tube pink, rarely white, 3–6 mm;

galea white or pink with 2 purple spots or stripes, 1–2 mm, beaked, beak coiled, 3–6 mm, base curving, margins entire medially and distally, apex not surrounded by abaxial lip, axis of coil nearly vertical;

abaxial lip pendulous, white or pink with purple stripe, 4–5.5 mm.

calyx 8.5–11 mm, hirsute along veins or glabrous, lobes 2, triangular, 0.5–1 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate;

corolla 20–26 mm, tube light pink, rarely white, 12–15 mm;

galea reddish violet, sometimes white, 8–11 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip reddish violet, sometimes white, 4–8 mm.

2n

= 16.

Pedicularis attollens

Pedicularis crenulata

Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Moist grassy, sagebrush basins, alpine meadows.
Elevation 1500–3200 m. (4900–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CO; MT; NE; NM; NV; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

The flowers of Pedicularis attollens, like those of P. groenlandica, resemble an elephant’s head, and A. Heller placed them both in Elephantella. The short, upturned beak, in contrast to the long, more horizontal downturned beak of P. groenlandica, is a distinguishing feature of P. attollens. Whereas P. groenlandica occurs across much of western and arctic North America, P. attollens is found primarily in the Cascade Range of central and southern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada. It is also reported from the Klamath Range to the west and the White and Sweetwater mountains and the Warner Range to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Pedicularis crenulata is abundant in moist swales of alpine to subalpine sagebrush meadows of the mid to southern Rocky Mountains, as well as California and Nevada, where large populations with their reddish violet flowers create a distinctive swath across the otherwise green landscape. The undivided, nearly linear leaves with two-crenate margins are unique among North American species of Pedicularis. The galea bears a single apical tooth on each abaxial margin at the distal tip. Other species with the combination of two calyx lobes and undivided, linear to nearly linear leaves are P. angustifolia and P. racemosa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Basal leaves 1-pinnatifid.
subsp. attollens
1. Basal leaves 2-pinnatifid.
subsp. protogyna
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 514. FNA vol. 17, p. 520.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis
Sibling taxa
P. angustifolia, P. aurantiaca, P. bracteosa, P. canadensis, P. capitata, P. centranthera, P. chamissonis, P. contorta, P. crenulata, P. cystopteridifolia, P. densiflora, P. dudleyi, P. flammea, P. furbishiae, P. groenlandica, P. hirsuta, P. howellii, P. labradorica, P. lanata, P. lanceolata, P. langsdorffii, P. lapponica, P. oederi, P. ornithorhyncha, P. ornithorhynchos, P. palustris, P. parryi, P. parviflora, P. pennellii, P. procera, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
P. angustifolia, P. attollens, P. aurantiaca, P. bracteosa, P. canadensis, P. capitata, P. centranthera, P. chamissonis, P. contorta, P. cystopteridifolia, P. densiflora, P. dudleyi, P. flammea, P. furbishiae, P. groenlandica, P. hirsuta, P. howellii, P. labradorica, P. lanata, P. lanceolata, P. langsdorffii, P. lapponica, P. oederi, P. ornithorhyncha, P. ornithorhynchos, P. palustris, P. parryi, P. parviflora, P. pennellii, P. procera, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
Subordinate taxa
P. attollens subsp. attollens, P. attollens subsp. protogyna
Synonyms Elephantella attollens
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 384. (1868) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 568. (1846)
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