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Pedicularis rainierensis

Mt. Rainier lousewort

leafy lousewort, parrot's-beak, sickletop lousewort, white sickletop lousewort

Habit Plants 10–40 cm. Plants 0.5–15 cm.
Leaves

basal 2–5, blade lanceolate, 40–80 x 3–20 mm, 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate to 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 2–6, blade lanceolate, 15–70 x 5–20 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous.

basal 0;

cauline 8–25, blade linear or narrowly lanceolate, 10–80 x 3–15 mm, undivided, adjacent margins nonoverlapping, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

Racemes

simple, 1–4, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;

bracts lanceolate or subulate to trullate, 10–15 x 1–2 mm, undivided or pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

simple, 1–4, each 3–25-flowered;

bracts lanceolate, 5–40 x 3–10 mm, undivided, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

Pedicels

1–3.5 mm.

1–3.5 mm.

Flowers

calyx 7.5–11 mm, hispid to tomentose, lobes 5, linear to narrowly triangular, 4–5 mm, apex entire, glabrous or ciliate;

corolla 16–19 mm, tube light or dark yellow, 8–10 mm;

galea light or dark yellow, 8–9 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching beyond abaxial lip;

abaxial lip light or dark yellow, 4–5 mm.

calyx 4.5–7 mm, glabrous, lobes 2, triangular to deltate, 0.5–1 mm, apex entire, glabrous;

corolla 10–15 mm, tube white or light pink, 6–9 mm;

galea white or light pink, 4–6 mm, beaked, beak sickle-shaped, 5–8 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex not extending beyond abaxial lip;

abaxial lip white or light pink, 4–5 mm.

2n

= 16.

Pedicularis rainierensis

Pedicularis racemosa

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Moist alpine grassy meadows, gravelly slopes.
Elevation 1200–2000 m. [3900–6600 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pedicularis rainierensis is known from Mt. Rainier and the Crystal Mountain area. The species is easily confused with P. bracteosa var. latifolia, which often occurs in the same meadows. While the sizes and shapes of their flowers are nearly indistinguishable, P. rainierensis is a much smaller plant with leaves only about three fourths the size, proximal leaf lobes less than one fifth the size, inflorescences about one half the length, and the number of flowers greatly reduced in comparison to those of P. bracteosa var. latifolia.

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Pedicularis racemosa occurs in the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to New Mexico, in the Cascade Range from British Columbia to California, and in mountainous areas of Arizona.

Herbarium sheets of Pedicularis racemosa are sometimes misidentified as P. contorta or P. groenlandica, but the calyx has two lobes, not five as in the latter species. The uncoiled beak also bends downward from an undomed galea, which the large lateral lobes of the abaxial lip often conceal, whereas the coiled beaks of P. contorta and P. groenlandica are very noticeable.

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

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. procera, P. pulchella, P. racemosa, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
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. procera, P. pulchella, P. rainierensis, P. semibarbata, P. sudetica, P. sylvatica, P. verticillata
Subordinate taxa
P. racemosa subsp. alba, P. racemosa subsp. racemosa
Key
1. Corolla tubes light pink; cauline leaf blades narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, widest at middles.
subsp. racemosa
1. Corolla tubes white; cauline leaf blades linear to linear-lanceolate, widest near bases or at middles.
subsp. alba
Name authority Pennell & F. A. Warren: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 55: 317. (1928) Douglas ex Bentham: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 108. (1838)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 531. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart. FNA vol. 17, p. 530. Treatment author: Bruce W. Robart.
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