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Ducksbill lousewort (Pedicularis ornithorhyncha)

Description

General: Fibrous-rooted perennial with a woody base, the stems 0.5-3 dm. tall, glabrous below the inflorescence.Leaves: Basal leaves 3-12 cm. long, slightly exceeding the petiole, sub-pinnatifid, the narrow leaflets deeply cleft and often again toothed; cauline leaves few and poorly developed, or wanting.Flowers: Inflorescence capitate, often with one or two smaller, separate, lower clusters; bracts cleft; calyx lobes 5, short, equal; corolla pinkish-purple, bilabiate, the upper lip hooded, extending at right angles into a straight beak; lower lip 3-lobed; stigma capitate.Fruits: Capsule glabrous, flattened, curved.Distinguishing Characteristics: The only other species in our are of a similar reddish color, P. groenlandica, has an elongate inflorescence; P. ornithorhynchus's inflorescence is head-like, about as wide as high.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum: Magnoliophyta

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Lamiales

            • Family: Orobanchaceae

              • Genus: Pedicularis