Pedicularis attollens
Pedicularis crenulata
attol lousewort, attoll lousewort, elephant snouts, little elephant head, little elephant's head, woolly Mammoth
meadow lousewort, scalloped-leaf lousewort
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 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.
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, 1–10, 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.
1.2–1.6 mm.
3–3.5 mm.
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 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.
= 16.
Pedicularis attollens
Pedicularis crenulata
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 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.)
1. Basal leaves 1-pinnatifid. | subsp. attollens |
1. Basal leaves 2-pinnatifid. | subsp. protogyna |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
