Pedicularis cystopteridifolia |
Pedicularis contorta |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
fern-leaf lousewort, fernleaf pedicularis |
coil-beak lousewort, coiled lousewort, coiled pedicularis, curve-beak lousewort, curved-beak lousewort, white coiled-beak lousewort |
|||||||||
Habit | Plants 10–50 cm. | Plants 10–50 cm. | ||||||||
Leaves | basal 2–10, blade elliptic to lanceolate, 20–90 x 5–15 mm, 2(or 3)-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping to extensively overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous; cauline 2–8, blade triangular to lanceolate, 20–120 x 5–20 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous or unevenly hispid to tomentose. |
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. |
||||||||
Racemes | simple, 1–2, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–40-flowered; bracts trullate to obtrullate or subulate to trullate, 10–25 x 2–5 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-auricled, sometimes 1-pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal entire or serrate, surfaces tomentose. |
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. |
||||||||
Pedicels | 1–3 mm. |
1.5–5.5 mm. |
||||||||
Flowers | calyx 8–12 mm, tomentose, lobes 5, narrowly triangular, 3–4 mm, apex entire, ciliate; corolla 20–26 mm, tube red or pink, 13–15 mm; galea red or pink, 7–11 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip; abaxial lip red or pink, 6–7.5 mm. |
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. |
||||||||
2n | = 32. |
|||||||||
Pedicularis cystopteridifolia |
Pedicularis contorta |
|||||||||
Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | |||||||||
Habitat | Rocky alpine tundras, meadows. | |||||||||
Elevation | 2100–3100 m. (6900–10200 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
MT; WY
|
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
|
||||||||
Discussion | Pedicularis cystopteridifolia occurs only in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming. As the specific epithet implies, the leaves strongly resemble those of the fern Cystopteris fragilis. Although not sympatric, this species could easily be misidentified as P. sudetica subsp. scopulorum, which has flowers of a similar shape and color, and leaves that are also two-pinnatifid. The secondary leaf lobes of P. cystopteridifolia, however, are much larger, longer, more deeply incised, and more heavily toothed, making them appear more finely dissected than the linear to deltate secondary and smaller toothed lobes of P. sudetica. Many of the adjacent leaf lobes of P. cystopteridifolia also overlap, whereas the lobes of P. sudetica are more widely spaced and therefore not overlapping. The galea of P. cystopteridifolia is also more highly domed and broader, and the leaves are a paler shade of green in contrast to the dark green leaves of P. sudetica subsp. scopulorum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
||||||||
Key |
|
|||||||||
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 521. | FNA vol. 17, p. 519. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 365. (1900) | Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838) | ||||||||
Web links |
|