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Labrador lousewort, pédiculaire du Labrador

Howell lousewort, Howell's lousewort, Howell's pedicularis

Habit Plants 2–25 cm. Plants 15–40 cm.
Leaves

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 1–4, blade elliptic to lanceolate, 20–60 x 15–40 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 10–12, blade ovate to lanceolate, 25–60 x 15–40 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, sometimes auricled, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, entire or serrate to crenate, surfaces glabrous or scattered woolly along main vein.

Racemes

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, 1–8, exceeding basal leaves, each 15–40-flowered;

bracts trullate to cordate, 6–8 x 4–8 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal entire, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

Pedicels

0.5–2 mm.

2.5–3 mm.

Flowers

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 6–6.5 mm, tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 1.5–2 mm, apex entire, ciliate;

corolla 10–13 mm, tube white, 6–8 mm;

galea white, apically sometimes tinged with red to violet, 3.5–5 mm, beaked, beak straight, 1–2 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex extending beyond abaxial lip;

abaxial lip white, 1.5–2 mm.

2n

= 16.

Pedicularis labradorica

Pedicularis howellii

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Open forests, tundras, heathlands, rocky slopes, muskegs. Alpine forest clearings and edges.
Elevation 300–1100 m. (1000–3600 ft.) 1100–2000.
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AB; BC; LB; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Asia (China, Russia)
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
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Discussion

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 howellii is found in the Siskiyou Mountains along the California/Oregon border; it has undivided distal leaves. The division of the proximal leaves into irregular and asymmetric lobes, sometimes appearing auricled, is a unique feature of this species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 524. FNA vol. 17, p. 523.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis
Sibling taxa
P. angustifolia, P. attollens, P. aurantiaca, P. bracteosa, P. canadensis, P. capitata, P. centranthera, P. chamissonis, P. contorta, P. crenulata, P. cystopteridifolia, P. densiflora, P. dudleyi, P. flammea, P. furbishiae, P. groenlandica, P. hirsuta, P. howellii, P. lanata, P. lanceolata, P. langsdorffii, P. lapponica, P. oederi, P. ornithorhyncha, P. ornithorhynchos, P. palustris, P. parryi, P. parviflora, P. pennellii, P. procera, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
P. angustifolia, P. attollens, P. aurantiaca, P. bracteosa, P. canadensis, P. capitata, P. centranthera, P. chamissonis, P. contorta, P. crenulata, P. cystopteridifolia, P. densiflora, P. dudleyi, P. flammea, P. furbishiae, P. groenlandica, P. hirsuta, P. labradorica, P. lanata, P. lanceolata, P. langsdorffii, P. lapponica, P. oederi, P. ornithorhyncha, P. ornithorhynchos, P. palustris, P. parryi, P. parviflora, P. pennellii, P. procera, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
Synonyms P. labradorica var. sulphurea
Name authority Wirsing: Eclog. Bot. [2], plate 10. (1778) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 20: 307. (1885)
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