The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Parry's lousewort

pédiculaire flammée, red-tip lousewort, redrattle

Habit Plants 7–65 cm. Plants 1.5–20 cm.
Leaves

basal 4–20, blade elliptic or lanceolate to oblanceolate, 10–70 x 3–15 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 0–20, blade lanceolate, 10–50 x 2–10 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, serrate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

basal 2–5, blade lanceolate, 5–25 x 2–6 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous;

cauline 3–6, blade lanceolate, 5–30 x 3–10 mm, 1-pinnatifid, margins of adjacent lobes nonoverlapping or slightly overlapping distally, 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

Racemes

simple, 1–10, exceeding basal leaves, each 5–50-flowered;

bracts subulate to trullate, 10–25 x 8–10 mm, undivided or +/- lobed, proximal margins entire, distal serrate or crenate, surfaces glabrous or tomentose.

simple, 1 or 2, exceeding basal leaves, each 5–10-flowered;

bracts lanceolate, 10–15 x 1–2 mm, pinnatifid, proximal margins entire, distal 1- or 2-serrate, surfaces glabrous.

Pedicels

2–3 mm.

3–10 mm.

Flowers

calyx 6–10 mm, glabrous or tomentose, lobes 5, triangular to deltate, 1–3 mm, apex entire, glabrous;

corolla 14–22 mm, tube white, yellowish, or light purple to purple, 7–15 mm;

galea white, yellowish, or light purple to purple, 7–10 mm, beaked, beak straight, 5–8 mm, margins entire medially and distally, apex extending beyond abaxial lip;

abaxial lip white, yellowish, or light purple to purple, 4–9 mm.

calyx 4.5–7 mm, glabrous, lobes 5, triangular, 1.5–2.5 mm, apex entire, glabrous;

corolla 12–15 mm, tube yellow, 8–10 mm;

galea bicolored, yellow proximally, dark red to purple distally, 4–5 mm, beakless, margins entire medially and distally, apex arching slightly over abaxial lip;

abaxial lip yellow, 1.5–3 mm.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Pedicularis parryi

Pedicularis flammea

Phenology Flowering Jul.
Habitat Wet meadows, along streams, tundras, flood plains.
Elevation 0–2500 m. (0–8200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AB; MB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Norway, Sweden); Asia; Atlantic Islands (Iceland)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

Pedicularis parryi is characterized by a domed galea with a conical beak and light green calyces and floral bracts with dark purple stripes. The beaked galea extends well beyond the expanded lobes of the abaxial lip.

Pedicularis parryi is an alpine complex. Corolla color, number of cauline leaves, and bract margin variation are important features differentiating infraspecific taxa within P. parryi (G. D. Carr 1971, from which the following key is adapted).

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

Pedicularis flammea is often confused with P. oederi, which also has red- or purple-tipped galeas. Compared to other Pedicularis species, including P. oederi, flowers of P. flammea are much smaller.

Pedicularis flammea is a boreal-arctic species found only in northern parts of many Canadian provinces.

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

Key
1. Corolla tubes +/- purple; calyces tomentose.
subsp. purpurea
1. Corolla tubes white or yellowish; calyces glabrous.
→ 2
2. Cauline leaves (0 or)1–6; bract margins entire or +/- crenate.
subsp. parryi
2. Cauline leaves 5–20; bract margins +/- serrate.
subsp. mogollonica
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 528. FNA vol. 17, p. 522.
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. 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. canadensis, P. capitata, P. centranthera, P. chamissonis, P. contorta, P. crenulata, P. cystopteridifolia, P. densiflora, P. dudleyi, 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. parryi subsp. mogollonica, P. parryi subsp. parryi, P. parryi subsp. purpurea
Name authority A. Gray: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 250. (1862) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 609. (1753)
Web links