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bract lousewort, fernleaf, towering lousewort, wood-betony

pine woods lousewort, pinewoods pedicularis

Habit Plants 20–80 cm. Plants 1–6 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 3–5, blade lanceolate or spatulate, 20–90 x 5–30 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, entire or dentate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose;

cauline 1 or 2, blade lanceolate, 25–80 x 5–10 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate to dentate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

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, 1–5, not exceeding basal leaves, each 4–20-flowered;

bracts lanceolate to oblanceolate, 30–90 x 5–40 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid nearly to midrib, margins serrate to dentate, surfaces glabrous.

Pedicels

0.5–1 mm.

2–4 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 7–9 mm, glabrous or tomentose along veins, lobes 5, narrowly triangular, 1.5–5 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate;

corolla 12–25 mm, tube light green or pale yellow, sometimes cream, 7–13 mm;

galea concolored, light green or pale yellow, sometimes cream, 5–12 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex nearly straight to arching slightly over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip yellow, sometimes cream, 4–7 mm.

2n

= 16.

Pedicularis bracteosa

Pedicularis semibarbata

Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

The basal and cauline leaves of Pedicularis semibarbata are distinctly one- or two-pinnatifid into deep pinnae and narrow subpinnae with serrate margins. The leaves and bracts far exceed the length of the inflorescence, often concealing it. Obvious spatulate, tan-colored, undivided, and membranous leaves are proximal to the divided basal leaves, but they are not as conspicuous as those of P. centranthera, a species with a similar growth form. Proximal floral bracts of P. semibarbata are similar to basal and cauline leaves, whereas in some specimens the distal bracts are spatulate and either once-divided or merely serrate at the apex. Surfaces of the corolla tube and sometimes the galea as well are hispid.

Pedicularis semibarbata grows under ponderosa pine, incense cedar, sugar pine, and white fir, primarily in the southern Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada, in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains of California, and the Mount Charleston region of Nevada.

The flowers of Pedicularis semibarbata in Yosemite National Park were pollinated only by Osmia tristella (L. W. Macior 1977).

(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. 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. 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
P. semibarbata subsp. charlestonensis, P. semibarbata subsp. semibarbata
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
1. Corollas 12–20(–22) mm; leaf lobes 6–20 x 3–14 mm; outside of Mount Charleston region, Nevada.
subsp. semibarbata
1. Corollas 20–25 mm; leaf lobes 3–12 x 1–8 mm; within Mount Charleston region, Nevada.
subsp. charlestonensis
Name authority Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 110. (1838) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 385. (1868)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 515. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart. FNA vol. 17, p. 531. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart.
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