Pedicularis canadensis L. var. canadensis

Canadian Lousewort; Eastern Lousewort; Wood Betony

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Canadian Lousewort is a native perennial herb in the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). It is found throughout most of Alabama. Canadian Lousewort grows in hardwood forest, on roadsides, and along forest and prairie edges. It is a colonial perennial from a slender rhizome. Leaves are basal and cauline. The basal leaves are petiolate, lanceolate in outline, glabrous or pubescent, with 1-2 pinnatifid margins. Cauline leaves are lanceolate in outline and once pinnatifid. Flowers are produced in terminal racemes of 10-40 flowers. Individual flowers are subtended by large, green, leaf-like bracts. The calyx is 2-lobed. The corolla is tubular, hooded, and greenish-yellow, yellow, or reddish in color. The fruit is a capsule. Canadian Lousewort is sometimes available from native plant nurseries. It prefers a moist, organic rich soil and full to partial sun. It can be used as a low border or naturalized in a woodland. It is hemi-parasitic and connects to the roots of other nearby herbaceous plants. It can however grow without forming a connection with a host plant. Canadian Lousewort is an important nectar source for early emerging pollinators such as bumble bees.—A. Diamond.

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Native

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