Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis canadensis |
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coil-beak lousewort, coiled lousewort, coiled pedicularis, curve-beak lousewort, curved-beak lousewort, white coiled-beak lousewort |
beefsteak plant, Canadian lousewort, forest lousewort, pédiculaire du Canada, wood betony |
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Habit | Plants 10–50 cm. | Plants 4–50 cm. | ||||||||
Leaves | basal 3–10, blade lanceolate, 30–100 x 5–30 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous; cauline 2–10, blade elliptic or triangular to lanceolate, 5–70 x 10–25 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous. |
basal 2–20, blade lanceolate, 15–100 x 3–40 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or hispid; cauline 1–10, blade lanceolate, 10–70 x 5–20 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or hispid. |
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Racemes | simple, 1–6, exceeding basal leaves, each 12–40-flowered; bracts trullate to obtrullate, 5–18 x 2–15 mm, pinnatifid, margins entire, surfaces glabrous. |
simple, 1–5, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–40-flowered; bracts lanceolate, ovate, spatulate, or trullate, 5–40 x 1–10 mm, undivided proximally, undivided to 1-pinnatifid distally, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, sometimes crenate, surfaces glabrous or hispid to tomentose. |
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Pedicels | 1.5–5.5 mm. |
1.5–2 mm. |
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Flowers | calyx 5–9 mm, glabrous, lobes 5, triangular, 1–3 mm, apex entire, glabrous; corolla 7–13 mm, tube white or cream to yellowish or pink to pinkish purple, 4–7 mm; galea white or cream to yellowish with purple spots at base, or pink to pinkish purple, 2–5.5 mm, beaked, beak coiled, 5–9 mm, base curving, margins entire medially and distally, apex surrounded by abaxial lip, axis of coil nearly vertical; abaxial lip surrounding beak, white or cream to yellowish, or pink to pinkish purple, 5–8 mm. |
calyx 7–12 mm, glabrous, hispid, or tomentose, lobes 2, triangular, 0.5–2 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate; corolla 18–25 mm, tube yellow, 8–15 mm; galea yellow, yellow with red veins, or red, sometimes purple, 10–14 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip; abaxial lip expanded, yellow or white, 6–7 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis canadensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | |||||||||
Habitat | Deciduous forests, forest edges, prairies, alpine wet meadows. | |||||||||
Elevation | 70–2500 m. (200–8200 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; ON; QC; Mexico
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). The coiled beak that extends directly downward from the top of the galea is distinctive in Pedicularis contorta. Seen from the side, the large, upward-expanded, lateral lobes of the abaxial lip surround the beak, concealing it from view. The flowers of P. contorta are very similar to those of P. racemosa; however, the leaves of P. racemosa are undivided, the beak curves down and to one side, and the inflorescence often branches, forming a panicle of short racemes with long internodes between flowers. Flower and calyx color and width of the subtending floral bracts delimit three varieties in Pedicularis contorta; corolla color is difficult to discern in herbarium specimens. The following key is adapted from R. N. Reese (1984). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Pedicularis canadensis is chiefly of the Midwestern prairies; in eastern states and provinces, it grows in forest openings and along forest edges. It also inhabits alpine wet meadows at higher elevations along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Corollas may be yellow, yellow with red veins, red (forma praeclara A. H. Moore), or bicolored with a yellow corolla tube, yellow abaxial lip, and red galea (forma bicolor Farwell). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 519. | FNA vol. 17, p. 517. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||||||
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Synonyms | P. canadensis var. dobbsii, P. canadensis subsp. fluviatilis, P. canadensis var. fluviatilis | |||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838) | Linnaeus: Mant. Pl. 1: 86. (1767) | ||||||||
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