Pedicularis labradorica
Pedicularis cystopteridifolia
Labrador lousewort, pédiculaire du Labrador
fern-leaf lousewort, fernleaf pedicularis
basal 2 or 3, blade lanceolate, 10–20 x 2–3 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate, surfaces glabrous;
cauline 1–4, blade linear to lanceolate, 10–50 x 2–10 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate to 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely downy to hispid.
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.
paniculate or buds present in cauline leaf axils, 1–8, exceeding basal leaves, each 5–20-flowered;
bracts linear to narrowly lanceolate, 7–15 x 1–2 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, sometimes crenulate, surfaces glabrous or hispid.
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.
0.5–2 mm.
1–3 mm.
calyx 5–8 mm, glabrous, lobes 2, triangular, 0.5–1.5 mm, apex entire, sometimes slightly bifurcate, glabrous;
corolla 12–18 mm, tube deep yellow, 7–10 mm;
galea dark yellow or yellow tinged with purple or spotted, 5–9 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip;
abaxial lip dark yellow, 5–7 mm.
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.
= 16.
= 32.
Pedicularis labradorica
Pedicularis cystopteridifolia
The flowers of Pedicularis labradorica are usually yellow or dark yellow, and the galea is tinged distally with red or purple; sometimes, the yellow color of the tube abruptly transitions into red or purple. Hultén based var. sulphurea on the solid yellow color variant from the Yukon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
