Pedicularis centranthera |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
dwarf lousewort, Great Basin lousewort |
meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort |
|||||
Habit | Plants 4–12 cm. | Plants 10–40 cm. | ||||
Leaves | basal 6–8, blade elliptic or spatulate, 35–120 x 10–30 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, entire or 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or scattered abaxial glands; cauline 0–4, blade elliptic, sometimes lanceolate, 20–110 x 5–30 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes overlapping distally, 1- or 2-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, 1–4, not exceeding basal leaves, each 8–14-flowered; bracts spatulate, 40–60 x 3–6 mm, undivided proximally, undivided or 1-pinnatifid distally, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous, sometimes arachnoid along main veins. |
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 | 1–5 mm. |
3–3.5 mm. |
||||
Flowers | calyx 17–22 mm, glabrous, lobes 5, narrowly triangular, 4–7 mm, apex entire or serrate, glabrous or ciliate; corolla 28–40 mm, tube white or pale purple, 15–30 mm; galea white or pale purple, apically sometimes dark violet to purple, 13–15 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching over abaxial lip; abaxial lip purple, 1–4 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 centranthera |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|||||
Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Moist grassy, sagebrush basins, alpine meadows. | |||||
Elevation | 1500–3200 m. (4900–10500 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT
|
CA; CO; MT; NE; NM; NV; WY
|
||||
Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). The leaves of Pedicularis centranthera exceed the inflorescence, giving the impression that the cauline leaves are basal. Proximalmost basal leaves are distinct: brown, membranous, and spatulate with undivided and entire margins. Pedicularis semibarbata has similar basal leaves. Pedicularis centranthera occurs in evergreen forests, often under pinyon pine, juniper, ponderosa pine, and yellow pine. (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 |
|
|||||
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 518. | FNA vol. 17, p. 520. | ||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | A. Gray: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 120. (1859) | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 568. (1846) | ||||
Web links |