Pedicularis procera
Pedicularis oederi
giant lousewort, Gray's lousewort
Oeder's lousewort
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 2–10, blade lanceolate, 10–70 x 3–15 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or slightly tomentose;
cauline 1–5, blade lanceolate, 15–50 x 3–20 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or extensively overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous or slightly tomentose.
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 or 2, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;
bracts linear to lanceolate, 5–20 x 1–2 mm, undivided or 1-pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.
0–1 mm.
2–5 mm.
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 8–11 mm, tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 1–3 mm, apex entire or serrate, glabrous, sometimes ciliate;
corolla 15–24 mm, tube yellow, 9–15 mm;
galea bicolored, yellow proximally, brown or red distally, 6–9 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching slightly over abaxial lip;
abaxial lip yellow, 4–5 mm.
= 32.
= 16 (Asia).
Pedicularis procera
Pedicularis oederi
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 oederi is known from the mountains of Europe, Asia, and western North America.
Two arctic species can be easily confused with Pedicularis oederi. Pedicularis flammea also has bicolored flowers that are yellow with galeas that are red- or purple-tipped, but the flowers of P. oederi are twice the size of those of P. flammea. The flowers of P. capitata are sometimes also yellow but may or may not be bicolored. If bicolored, the color is more diffuse and lighter than that of either P. flammea or P. oederi. The flowers of P. capitata are also larger than those of P. oederi. In addition, the inflorescences of P. capitata usually have no more than five flowers clustered at the tips, while those of P. oederi have at least 10 to 50 flowers along at least one third their lengths. H. J. Scoggan (1978–1979) listed P. oederi var. albertae based upon its densely woolly inflorescence.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
PNW Herbaria
