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giant lousewort, Gray's lousewort

beefsteak plant, Canadian lousewort, forest lousewort, pédiculaire du Canada, wood betony

Habit Plants 75–150 cm. Plants 4–50 cm.
Leaves

basal 2–4, blade lanceolate, 150–250 x 80–120 mm, 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous or hirsute;

cauline 4–10, blade triangular to lanceolate, 60–300 x 5–90 mm, undivided or 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

basal 2–20, blade lanceolate, 15–100 x 3–40 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or hispid;

cauline 1–10, blade lanceolate, 10–70 x 5–20 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or hispid.

Racemes

simple, sometimes paniculate, 1–3, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;

bracts linear or narrowly lanceolate to subulate, 15–80 x 3–8 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal entire or serrate, surfaces hispid to tomentose.

simple, 1–5, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–40-flowered;

bracts lanceolate, ovate, spatulate, or trullate, 5–40 x 1–10 mm, undivided proximally, undivided to 1-pinnatifid distally, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, sometimes crenate, surfaces glabrous or hispid to tomentose.

Pedicels

0–1 mm.

1.5–2 mm.

Flowers

calyx 10–15 mm, hispid to hirsute, lobes 5, triangular, 4–7 mm, apex entire, ciliate;

corolla 22–30 mm, tube light yellow, greenish yellow, or light pink, 10–15 mm;

galea light yellow, greenish yellow, or light pink, with purple to red veins, 9–15 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip light yellow or light pink, with purple veins, 9–15 mm.

calyx 7–12 mm, glabrous, hispid, or tomentose, lobes 2, triangular, 0.5–2 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate;

corolla 18–25 mm, tube yellow, 8–15 mm;

galea yellow, yellow with red veins, or red, sometimes purple, 10–14 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip expanded, yellow or white, 6–7 mm.

2n

= 32.

= 16.

Pedicularis procera

Pedicularis canadensis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Moist alpine meadows, aspen groves. Deciduous forests, forest edges, prairies, alpine wet meadows.
Elevation 2400–4000 m. (7900–13100 ft.) 70–2500 m. (200–8200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; ON; QC; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Although Pedicularis grayi A. Nelson appears in older floras, the name is superfluous and illegitimate. Pedicularis procera Adams ex Steven 1822 is invalid.

Pedicularis procera is the tallest species of Pedicularis in North America. Because the leaves closely resemble those of P. bracteosa, smaller plants can be easily mistaken for this species.

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

Pedicularis canadensis is chiefly of the Midwestern prairies; in eastern states and provinces, it grows in forest openings and along forest edges. It also inhabits alpine wet meadows at higher elevations along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Corollas may be yellow, yellow with red veins, red (forma praeclara A. H. Moore), or bicolored with a yellow corolla tube, yellow abaxial lip, and red galea (forma bicolor Farwell).

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 529. FNA vol. 17, p. 517.
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. labradorica, P. lanata, P. lanceolata, P. langsdorffii, P. lapponica, P. oederi, P. ornithorhyncha, P. ornithorhynchos, P. palustris, P. parryi, P. parviflora, P. pennellii, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
P. angustifolia, P. attollens, P. aurantiaca, P. bracteosa, 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. 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. canadensis var. dobbsii, P. canadensis subsp. fluviatilis, P. canadensis var. fluviatilis
Name authority A. Gray: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 251. (1862) Linnaeus: Mant. Pl. 1: 86. (1767)
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