Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis oederi |
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coil-beak lousewort, coiled lousewort, coiled pedicularis, curve-beak lousewort, curved-beak lousewort, white coiled-beak lousewort |
Oeder's lousewort |
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Habit | Plants 10–50 cm. | Plants 2–15 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 2–10, blade lanceolate, 10–70 x 3–15 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or slightly tomentose; cauline 1–5, blade lanceolate, 15–50 x 3–20 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or slightly tomentose. |
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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 or 2, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered; bracts linear to lanceolate, 5–20 x 1–2 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose. |
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Pedicels | 1.5–5.5 mm. |
2–5 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 8–11 mm, tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 1–3 mm, apex entire or serrate, glabrous, sometimes ciliate; corolla 15–24 mm, tube yellow, 9–15 mm; galea bicolored, yellow proximally, brown or red distally, 6–9 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching slightly over abaxial lip; abaxial lip yellow, 4–5 mm. |
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2n | = 16 (Asia). |
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Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis oederi |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||||||
Habitat | Arctic and alpine tundras. | |||||||||
Elevation | 500–3700 m. (1600–12100 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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AK; MT; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT; Eurasia
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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 oederi is known from the mountains of Europe, Asia, and western North America. Two arctic species can be easily confused with Pedicularis oederi. Pedicularis flammea also has bicolored flowers that are yellow with galeas that are red- or purple-tipped, but the flowers of P. oederi are twice the size of those of P. flammea. The flowers of P. capitata are sometimes also yellow but may or may not be bicolored. If bicolored, the color is more diffuse and lighter than that of either P. flammea or P. oederi. The flowers of P. capitata are also larger than those of P. oederi. In addition, the inflorescences of P. capitata usually have no more than five flowers clustered at the tips, while those of P. oederi have at least 10 to 50 flowers along at least one third their lengths. H. J. Scoggan (1978–1979) listed P. oederi var. albertae based upon its densely woolly inflorescence. (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. 526. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||||||
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Synonyms | P. oederi var. albertae | |||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838) | Vahl ex Hornemann: Fors. Oecon. Plantel. ed. 2, 580. (1806) | ||||||||
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