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attol lousewort, attoll lousewort, elephant snouts, little elephant head, little elephant's head, woolly Mammoth

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

Habit Plants 15–78 cm. Plants 4–50 cm.
Leaves

basal 5–25, blade elliptic, 60–150(or 200–250) x 3–23 mm, 1- or 2-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, serrate, surfaces glabrous or scattered glands;

cauline 2–20, blade elliptic, 5–50(–100) x 1–5 mm, undivided or 1(or 2)-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping, 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, 1–3, exceeding basal leaves, each 10–50-flowered;

bracts lanceolate to triangular, 5–10 x 3–10 mm, pinnatifid, margins entire, surfaces glabrous or 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

1.2–1.6 mm.

1.5–2 mm.

Flowers

calyx 4–5 mm, glabrous or tomentose, lobes 5, triangular, 2–2.5 mm, apex entire, glabrous;

corolla 6–8 mm, tube pink, rarely white, 3–6 mm;

galea white or pink with 2 purple spots or stripes, 1–2 mm, beaked, beak coiled, 3–6 mm, base curving, margins entire medially and distally, apex not surrounded by abaxial lip, axis of coil nearly vertical;

abaxial lip pendulous, white or pink with purple stripe, 4–5.5 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

= 16.

= 16.

Pedicularis attollens

Pedicularis canadensis

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Deciduous forests, forest edges, prairies, alpine wet meadows.
Elevation 70–2500 m. (200–8200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

The flowers of Pedicularis attollens, like those of P. groenlandica, resemble an elephant’s head, and A. Heller placed them both in Elephantella. The short, upturned beak, in contrast to the long, more horizontal downturned beak of P. groenlandica, is a distinguishing feature of P. attollens. Whereas P. groenlandica occurs across much of western and arctic North America, P. attollens is found primarily in the Cascade Range of central and southern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada. It is also reported from the Klamath Range to the west and the White and Sweetwater mountains and the Warner Range to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

(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.)

Key
1. Basal leaves 1-pinnatifid.
subsp. attollens
1. Basal leaves 2-pinnatifid.
subsp. protogyna
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 514. FNA vol. 17, p. 517.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis Orobanchaceae > Pedicularis
Sibling taxa
P. angustifolia, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
P. attollens subsp. attollens, P. attollens subsp. protogyna
Synonyms Elephantella attollens P. canadensis var. dobbsii, P. canadensis subsp. fluviatilis, P. canadensis var. fluviatilis
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 384. (1868) Linnaeus: Mant. Pl. 1: 86. (1767)
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