Swamp Lousewort

(Pedicularis lanceolata)

Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata)

Identification: Flowers yellow with a tubular corolla. Upper petal lobes fused into a convex, hood-like structure with a descending pistil arising from the tip of the hood. Lower 3 petal lobes fused into a lower 3-lobed banner. Flowers clumped near the apex of the plant. Stems and leaves smooth, not hairy. Leaves elongate and heavily lobed. Leaves nearly always opposite. Petioles of lower leaves short to non-existent. Plant 1 to 2 feet in height.

Distribution: Manitoba in the west to New England in the east, southward to North Carolina, Georgia, and Nebraska.

Habitat: Swamp Lousewort is a wetlands species found in swamps and wet meadows.

Flowering period: August to October.

Similar Species: Wood Betony is a similar species, but has and early not late, flowering period. The lower leaves have long petioles, and the habitat is dry woods and thickets, not swamps and wet meadows. There other species of Pedicularis, but most of them are found in the arctic and high boreal regions of North America.