Pedicularis contorta / curved-beak lousewort
- alpine and subalpine habitats
- fern-like leaves at base
- tall, spikey inflorescence
- white flowers with coiled upper beak and flat, 3-lobed lower lip
Also known as: coiled lousewort, coiled beak lousewort
Curved-beak lousewort is a perennial herb that grows in open forests and drier meadows at mid- to high elevations. The photos in the gallery were taken about half-way up the Bannock Trail at Grand Targhee Resort. It flowers in late July and August in this habitat. Each plant grows one or more stems from a woody caudex, each up to 16 inches tall.
The inflorescence is a spike, 2-11 inches long. Each flower is ½ inch or so long, and white to yellowish in color with a few dark spots. They are divided into a coiled or curved beak-like upper lip and a flat, three-lobed lower lip.
The leaves have been described technically as “long, lance-shaped to oblong, and divided into many linear lobes which may be toothed or smooth-edged”. The leaf segments are not crowded together, but spaced apart. To some, the best description may be that they look fern-like.
Alas, like many exposed alpine and subalpine plants, there is not all that much information available about it, and no cool stories. Sorry.
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