Pedicularis langsdorffii
Pedicularis ornithorhyncha
Langsdorf's lousewort, Langsdorff's lousewort
bird's-beak lousewort, ducksbill lousewort
basal 0–10, blade elliptic, 10–30 x 3–15 mm, 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous;
cauline 1–4, blade elliptic, 10–40 x 2–10 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, sometimes crenate, surfaces glabrous, sometimes sparsely tomentose.
basal 2–10, blade lanceolate to oblanceolate, 15–80 x 3–10 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous;
cauline 0–4, blade lanceolate, 5–40 x 3–15 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous.
simple, 1–6, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;
bracts subulate or linear, 5–25 x 1–10 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal serrate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely tomentose to tomentose.
simple, 1–5, exceeding basal leaves, each 4–15-flowered;
bracts trullate, sometimes lanceolate, 5–13 x 1–3 mm, +/- lobed, margins entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.
2.5–5 mm.
3–6 mm.
calyx 6–11 mm, glabrous or +/- tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 2–5 mm, apex entire or serrate to dentate, glabrous;
corolla 17–25 mm, tube pink or lavender, 11–13 mm;
galea pink or lavender, 6–12 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex strongly arching over abaxial lip;
abaxial lip pink or lavender, 5–8 mm.
calyx 6.5–9 mm, tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 2.5–4 mm, apex entire or serrulate, glabrous or ciliate;
corolla 12–15 mm, tube lavender, 8–9 mm;
galea lavender, 4–6.5 mm, beaked, beak straight, 2–6.5 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex extending beyond abaxial lip;
abaxial lip pink, 6–8 mm.
= 16.
Pedicularis langsdorffii
Pedicularis ornithorhyncha
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Pedicularis langsdorffii may be mistaken for P. hirsuta, P. lanata, and P. sudetica, which have similar growth forms and habitat requirements. Pedicularis langsdorffii generally has larger, pink to lavender corollas with toothed galeas that strongly arch over the abaxial lips in contrast to the smaller, toothless, pink corollas and slightly arching galeas of P. lanata. Pedicularis sudetica has up to five cauline leaves or lacks them. The straight, smaller galeas and pale pink or white corollas of P. hirsuta differentiate it from P. langsdorffii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pedicularis ornithorhynchos is commonly misspelled in the literature as P. ornithorhyncha. As this is the orthography used in floras since C. L. Hitchcock et al. (1955–1969, vol. 4), it also appears on recent herbarium specimens. How this error arose is unclear because the same misspelling also appears on specimens older than 1959. Another occasional misspelling is ornithorhynchus.
The galeas of Pedicularis ornithorhynchos taper into long conical, uncoiled beaks that are very conspicuous above the horizontally expanded lateral lobes of the abaxial lips. No more than 15 flowers are borne on the capitate heads, with the internodes greatly expanding as the fruits develop. Compared to the basal leaves, the cauline leaves of the inflorescence are very few and much shorter, but otherwise similar in form. This alpine and tundra species occurs in the Alaskan panhandle and Coast Mountains as well as the coast ranges of mainland British Columbia south into the northern Cascade Range as far south as Mount Rainier; it is also recorded from alpine areas on Vancouver Island and the Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia.
Pedicularis ornithorhynchos is pollinated by bumblebees that hang inverted from the galea and cause release of pollen by wing-muscle vibrations (L. W. Macior 1973).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Bracts and calyces glabrous. | subsp. langsdorffii |
1. Bracts and calyces +/- tomentose. | subsp. arctica |
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
Flora NW
