Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis verticillata |
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coil-beak lousewort, coiled lousewort, coiled pedicularis, curve-beak lousewort, curved-beak lousewort, white coiled-beak lousewort |
whorled lousewort |
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Habit | Plants 10–50 cm. | Plants 5–25 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 5–25, blade elliptic, 10–20 x 3–8 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose; cauline whorled, whorls 1 or 2, leaves per whorl 3–5, blade lanceolate, 5–30 x 3–10 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping, serrate, surfaces glabrous. |
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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. |
verticillate, 1–10, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–40-flowered; bracts lanceolate to trullate, 4–20 x 2–5 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins serrate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely tomentose. |
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Pedicels | 1.5–5.5 mm. |
0.7–2.5 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 3.5–10 mm, glabrous or pilose, lobes 5, deltate, 0.3–1 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate; corolla 10–18 mm, tube light or dark pink, 5–8 mm; galea light or dark pink or purple, 5–7 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching slightly over abaxial lip; abaxial lip light pink with purple veins and/or purple spots or purple with dark veins, 5–7 mm. |
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2n | = 12. |
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Pedicularis contorta |
Pedicularis verticillata |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | |||||||||
Habitat | Arctic meadows and thickets, muskegs, arctic and alpine tundras. | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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AK; BC; NT; YT; Europe; Asia |
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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.) |
In the flora area, Pedicularis verticillata and P. chamissonis are the only species of Pedicularis with whorled leaves. (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. 534. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Pediculariopsis verticillata | |||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 608. (1753) | ||||||||
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