Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin - Pedicularis lanceolata

Pedicularis lanceolata Michx.

Family: Orobanchaceae

fen betony, swamp betony, swamp-lousewort

Merel R. Black

Keir Morse

University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)

Open Interactive Map

Etymology: Pedicularis: from the Latin pediculus meaning "louse," referring to the old English belief that when cattle grazed on these plants, they became infested with lice
Plants: erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb; stems mostly solitary; partially parasitic
Leaves: mostly opposite, short-stalked, long, finely pinnately-toothed
Flowers: yellow, 5-parted, 3/4"-1" long, tubular-shaped, upper lip entire with the hooded tip covering the 4 stamens, lower lip almost as long as upper; inflorescence a leafy, conical spike both terminal and from the upper leaf axils; blooms Aug.-Sept.
Fruits: capsule, opening at the top
Habitat: wet; meadows, prairies, marshes, shores; in limy soil
Conservation Status: Native

In wetter situations than P. canadensis including marshes, fens, wet prairies, sedge meadows, ditches, hardwood swamps, lakeshores, shrub carr, dune swales, and wet fields; rarely on clay seepage bluffs and wet cliffs.

This is generally a taller plant than P. canadensis and blooms in late summer/early fall. Throughout the southern two-thirds of the state but more common in the eastern half.