Forest Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis)
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The Forest Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis) or Woody Betony, as it is sometimes known as, is a member of the Scrophulariaceae or Snapdragon family. This erect hairy perennial is from 6- to 16-inches tall. It grows in colonies or clumps from short rhizomes. The basal leaves are 2- to 5-inches long, lance head or spear head in shape, deeply lobed, somewhat fern-like. The leaves are alternate and reduce in size the further up the stem they appear, such that the uppermost are almost sessile. The terminal spike, from 1.2- to 2-inches long, has small leaf-like bracts and the tube-like flowers which are from 0.7- to 1-inch long, forming a circle of three or more radiating from a single node. All the petals of the flower are pale yellow to maroon, two-lipped, with an arched hood-like upper lobe. It is a fairly common plant found in upland woods and barrens from Quebec and Maine to Manitoba and Colorado south to Florida and Texas and even into northern Mexico. It flowers between April and June.
Forest Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis)
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