Pedicularis groenlandica |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|
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bull elephant's-head, elephant's head, elephant's head pedicularis, elephant's-head lousewort, elephant-head lousewort, pédiculaire du groenland |
meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort |
|
Habit | Plants 10–60 cm. | Plants 10–40 cm. |
Leaves | basal 5–20, blade lanceolate, 20–150 x 5–25 mm, 1-pinnatifid or slightly 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous; cauline 3–31, blade lanceolate, 10–150 x 1–25 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 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 or 2, exceeding basal leaves, each 20–75-flowered; bracts linear to trullate, 5–10 x 2–10 mm, undivided to pinnatifid, margins entire, serrate, or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous. |
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 | 0.5–1 mm. |
3–3.5 mm. |
Flowers | calyx 3–5 mm, glabrous or hispid, lobes 5, deltate, 0.5–1.5 mm, apex entire, glabrous; corolla 5–8 mm, tube purple, rarely white, 3–5 mm; galea pink to purple, rarely white, 1.5–3 mm, beaked, beak coiled, 5–18 mm, base curving, margins entire medially and distally, apex not surrounded by abaxial lip, axis of coil nearly horizontal; abaxial lip pendulous, purple, rarely white, 2–5 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. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Pedicularis groenlandica |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Montane and alpine to arctic bogs, fens, marshes, and forested swamps, seepage areas, stream banks, fens, clay gravel flood plains of rivers. | Moist grassy, sagebrush basins, alpine meadows. |
Elevation | 600–3500 m. (2000–11500 ft.) | 1500–3200 m. (4900–10500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
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CA; CO; MT; NE; NM; NV; WY
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Discussion | Pedicularis groenlandica has a domed galea, a long, curved beak, and relatively large lateral lobes of the abaxial lip that remarkably resemble the head, trunk, and ears of an elephant. Pedicularis groenlandica is the most widely distributed Pedicularis species in North America; it occurs from the southern Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains well into the Arctic and Greenland. Pedicularis attollens and P. groenlandica are sympatric in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades of central and southern Oregon and can be difficult to distinguish. Pedicularis groenlandica is distinguished by the size and orientation of the beak and color of the corolla; the beak is over twice the length of the beak of P. attollens and is oriented more horizontally compared to the upturned beak of P. attollens. Beak orientation is very difficult to ascertain in herbarium material due to flattening; beak length is a better character on herbarium specimens. The corollas of P. groenlandica are purple with lighter purple to pinkish abaxial lips, whereas the corollas of P. attollens vary from pink to light pink often with conspicuous dark purple spots on the galeas. White-flowered forms of P. groenlandica (forma pallida Lepage) are occasionally seen. (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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 523. | FNA vol. 17, p. 520. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Elephantella groenlandica, P. groenlandica subsp. surrecta | |
Name authority | Retzius: Fl. Scand. Prodr. ed. 2, 145. (1795) | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 568. (1846) |
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