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bract lousewort, fernleaf, towering lousewort, wood-betony

meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort

Habit Plants 20–80 cm. Plants 10–40 cm.
Leaves

basal 0–10, blade lanceolate, 20–120 x 10–60 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 4–10, blade lanceolate, 10–270 x 8–150 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate to 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or scattered glandular.

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, 1–4, exceeding basal leaves, each 15–75-flowered;

bracts lanceolate or subulate to trullate, 10–20 x 2–10 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous, hispid, 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

0.5–1 mm.

3–3.5 mm.

Flowers

calyx 7–15 mm, glabrous or tomentose, lobes 5, triangular or filiform, 1–10 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate;

corolla 14–27 mm, tube yellow or dark blood red, 6–12 mm;

galea yellow to yellow tinged with red, purple tinged with yellow, or dark blood red, 6–15 mm, beakless or beaked, beak straight, 0.8–2.5 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip expanded, yellow, yellow tinged with purple, or dark blood red, 4.5–6.5 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.

Pedicularis bracteosa

Pedicularis crenulata

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

Varieties 8 (8 in the flora).

Pedicularis bracteosa is found in subalpine habitats across much of western North America, occurring throughout the Rocky Mountains from central British Columbia and Alberta to northern New Mexico, as well as the Coast Range south to northern California.

(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. Galeas beaked.
→ 2
2. Calyces tomentose.
var. canbyi
2. Calyces glabrous.
var. siifolia
1. Galeas beakless.
→ 3
3. Calyx lobes filiform.
→ 4
4. Corollas: tubes yellow, galeas yellow to yellow tinged with red, or purple tinged with yellow, abaxial lips yellow to yellow tinged with purple.
var. bracteosa
4. Corollas: tubes, galeas, and abaxial lips dark blood red.
var. atrosanguinea
3. Calyx lobes triangular.
→ 5
5. Galeas 10–15 mm.
var. paysoniana
5. Galeas 7–11 mm.
→ 6
6. Galea apices acute; British Colombia, Idaho, Washington.
var. latifolia
6. Galea apices obtuse; Blue and Wallowa mountains, Cascade Range, Oregon and Washington.
→ 7
7. Calyces slightly hispid; Cascade Range, Oregon and Washington.
var. flavida
7. Calyces tomentose; Blue and Wallowa mountains, Oregon, and Washington.
var. pachyrhiza
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 515. FNA vol. 17, p. 520.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis
Sibling taxa
P. angustifolia, P. attollens, P. aurantiaca, 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. bracteosa var. atrosanguinea, P. bracteosa var. bracteosa, P. bracteosa var. canbyi, P. bracteosa var. flavida, P. bracteosa var. latifolia, P. bracteosa var. pachyrhiza, P. bracteosa var. paysoniana, P. bracteosa var. siifolia
Name authority Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 110. (1838) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 568. (1846)
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