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bract lousewort, fernleaf, towering lousewort, wood-betony

Chamisso's lousewort

Habit Plants 20–80 cm. Plants 10–25 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 5–15, blade lanceolate, 15–40 x 10–20 mm, 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline whorled, whorls 1–4, leaves per whorl 3–5, blade lanceolate, 10–60 x 10–30 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, entire or serrate, 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.

verticillate, 1–3, exceeding basal leaves, each 8–20-flowered;

bracts lanceolate to subulate, 10–30 x 5–10 mm, 1-pinnatifid or undivided, margins serrate to 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

Pedicels

0.5–1 mm.

1.5–2.5 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 6–8 mm, glabrous, lobes 5, triangular, 0.5–1.4 mm, apex entire, ciliate;

corolla 18–20 mm, tube white to pink, 12–15 mm;

galea purple, 6–8 mm, beaked, beak straight, 1–3 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex extending beyond abaxial lip;

abaxial lip pink or purple, 4–5 mm.

Pedicularis bracteosa

Pedicularis chamissonis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Arctic meadows, tundras.
Elevation 10–300 m. [30–1000 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; e Asia
[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 chamissonis differs from P. verticillata by having leaves and flowers about 1.5 times larger with a galea that is extended into a conical beak, leaves lanceolate versus elliptic, and lateral lobes of the abaxial lip more than twice the size and more pendulous.

Pedicularis chamissonis is chiefly an Asian species, found on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Island, and Japan; the only North American populations occur in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

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

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. 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
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
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
Name authority Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 110. (1838) Steven: Mém. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 6: 20, plate 4, fig. 1. (1822)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 515. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart. FNA vol. 17, p. 519. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart.
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