Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Sudetic Lousewort
Pedicularis sudetica
Broomrape/Paintbrush family (Orobanchaceae)

This stunning plant is a rare treat in high mountain and on . Lousewort (Pedicularis sudetica) is found almost exclusively in the Colorado Rockies. When it is present, you know it immediately. The only other plant with which it might be confused is Elephant Heads (Pedicularis groenlandica), another beautifully exotic member of this . Elephant Heads grow at lower elevations, have more flowers in the cluster, and these flowers have a unique elephanthead structure.

Carl von Willdenow named this species Pedicularis sudetica around 1800; Asa Gray named the plant Pedicularis scopulorum (probably in the mid-1800s); and Oskar Hulten gave the presently accepted name of Pedicularis sudetica scopulorum in the mid-1900s. "Sudetica" refers to the Sudentland of Czechoslovakia and Poland, most likely the origin of the first collections of P. sudetica.


©2008 Alfred Cook

Description

plants, stems to 8" tall, except in very hairy . Leaves 1-3" long, and , divided almost to the . -like, densely flowered, about 2" long. about 1/3" long, very cobwebby hairy. 3/5-4/5" long, rose to purple, the hood about 2/5" long, curved near end with 2 broadly triangular near the apes, but not beaked. a .

Field Marks

Very attractive pink-purple head of flowers above fern-like leaves.

© Al Schneider

cauline -- Leaves that are on the stem. Not basal.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

midrib -- The central and most prominent vein of a leaf or leaf-like thing.

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

alpine -- above the tree line. Thin soil, rocks, short growing season, frost, winter snow.

corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

tundra -- Land above tree line characterized by a short growing season, intense sun and wind, thin soils, very high snow fall and high rain fall. Contains low growing sedges, grasses, dwarf shrubs and herbs.

basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.

A spike is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are without stalks.

subspecies -- Plants within a species can be divided into two or more supspecies when a botanist gives them subspecies names and describes how the subspecies differ. Often, variety and subspecies are used interchangeably.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.