Pedicularis procera |
Pedicularis contorta |
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giant lousewort, Gray's lousewort |
coil-beak lousewort, coiled lousewort, coiled pedicularis, curve-beak lousewort, curved-beak lousewort, white coiled-beak lousewort |
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Habit | Plants 75–150 cm. | Plants 10–50 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 3–10, blade lanceolate, 30–100 x 5–30 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous; cauline 2–10, blade elliptic or triangular to lanceolate, 5–70 x 10–25 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, entire or serrate, surfaces glabrous. |
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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, 1–6, exceeding basal leaves, each 12–40-flowered; bracts trullate to obtrullate, 5–18 x 2–15 mm, pinnatifid, margins entire, surfaces glabrous. |
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Pedicels | 0–1 mm. |
1.5–5.5 mm. |
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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 5–9 mm, glabrous, lobes 5, triangular, 1–3 mm, apex entire, glabrous; corolla 7–13 mm, tube white or cream to yellowish or pink to pinkish purple, 4–7 mm; galea white or cream to yellowish with purple spots at base, or pink to pinkish purple, 2–5.5 mm, beaked, beak coiled, 5–9 mm, base curving, margins entire medially and distally, apex surrounded by abaxial lip, axis of coil nearly vertical; abaxial lip surrounding beak, white or cream to yellowish, or pink to pinkish purple, 5–8 mm. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Pedicularis procera |
Pedicularis contorta |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Aug. | |||||||||
Habitat | Moist alpine meadows, aspen groves. | |||||||||
Elevation | 2400–4000 m. (7900–13100 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; NM; SD; UT; WY
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CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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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.) |
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). The coiled beak that extends directly downward from the top of the galea is distinctive in Pedicularis contorta. Seen from the side, the large, upward-expanded, lateral lobes of the abaxial lip surround the beak, concealing it from view. The flowers of P. contorta are very similar to those of P. racemosa; however, the leaves of P. racemosa are undivided, the beak curves down and to one side, and the inflorescence often branches, forming a panicle of short racemes with long internodes between flowers. Flower and calyx color and width of the subtending floral bracts delimit three varieties in Pedicularis contorta; corolla color is difficult to discern in herbarium specimens. The following key is adapted from R. N. Reese (1984). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 529. | FNA vol. 17, p. 519. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | A. Gray: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 251. (1862) | Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838) | ||||||||
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