Pedicularis groenlandica
Pedicularis furbishiae
bull elephant's-head, elephant's head, elephant's head pedicularis, elephant's-head lousewort, elephant-head lousewort, pédiculaire du groenland
Furbish lousewort, Furbish's lousewort
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 4, blade lanceolate to elliptic, 70–130 x 35–50 mm, 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces hispid;
cauline 7, blade lanceolate to elliptic, 20–90 x 8–35 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces hispid.
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 or paniculate, 1–4, exceeding basal leaves, each 3–30-flowered;
bracts trullate, 8–13 x 7–10 mm, undivided or pinnatifid, margins serrate to 2-serrate, surfaces hispid.
0.5–1 mm.
1–3 mm.
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 5–12 mm, hispid-glandular, lobes 5, narrowly triangular, 3–4.5 mm, apex entire or dentate, glabrous;
corolla 14–19 mm, tube yellow, 8–10 mm;
galea yellow, apically sometimes tinged red, 6–8.5 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching slightly over abaxial lip;
abaxial lip yellow with apex sometimes tinged red, 7–7.5 mm.
= 16.
Pedicularis groenlandica
Pedicularis furbishiae
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.)
Discovered in 1880, and at one time believed extinct, Pedicularis furbishiae was rediscovered in 1974 during an environmental impact survey for a proposed dam on the St. John's River and thereafter was placed on the Federal Register under the Endangered Species Act (L. W. Macior 1981). Metapopulation dynamics suggest that an ecologically intact watershed is required for long-term persistence (E. S. Menges 1990). A recovery strategy has been adopted for this species in New Brunswick (Furbish's Lousewort Recovery Team 2006; Environment Canada 2010). Pedicularis furbishiae is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
CA
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
Go Botany
