Pedicularis procera |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|
---|---|---|
giant lousewort, Gray's lousewort |
meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort |
|
Habit | Plants 75–150 cm. | Plants 10–40 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 8–10, blade narrowly elliptic to linear, 15–40 x 3–6 mm, undivided, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous; cauline 10–40, blade linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 10–60 x 2–6 mm, undivided, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous. |
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, 1–10, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered; bracts triangular or lanceolate to oblanceolate, 10–15 x 3–4 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal crenate to 2-crenate, surfaces glabrous. |
Pedicels | 0–1 mm. |
3–3.5 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 8.5–11 mm, hirsute along veins or glabrous, lobes 2, triangular, 0.5–1 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate; corolla 20–26 mm, tube light pink, rarely white, 12–15 mm; galea reddish violet, sometimes white, 8–11 mm, beakless, margins entire medially, 1-toothed distally, apex arching over abaxial lip; abaxial lip reddish violet, sometimes white, 4–8 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
|
Pedicularis procera |
Pedicularis crenulata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Aug. | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Moist alpine meadows, aspen groves. | Moist grassy, sagebrush basins, alpine meadows. |
Elevation | 2400–4000 m. (7900–13100 ft.) | 1500–3200 m. (4900–10500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CO; NM; SD; UT; WY
|
CA; CO; MT; NE; NM; NV; WY
|
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 crenulata is abundant in moist swales of alpine to subalpine sagebrush meadows of the mid to southern Rocky Mountains, as well as California and Nevada, where large populations with their reddish violet flowers create a distinctive swath across the otherwise green landscape. The undivided, nearly linear leaves with two-crenate margins are unique among North American species of Pedicularis. The galea bears a single apical tooth on each abaxial margin at the distal tip. Other species with the combination of two calyx lobes and undivided, linear to nearly linear leaves are P. angustifolia and P. racemosa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 529. | FNA vol. 17, p. 520. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis | Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | A. Gray: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 251. (1862) | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 568. (1846) |
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