Pedicularis is a genus of Perennial plant green Parasitic plant plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae sensu lato[ IPNI ( Pedicularis assigned to Scrophulariaceae)]).
Uses
Pedicularis is used medicinally in teas and smoking blends.
[ Mountain States Medicinal Plants by Briana Wiles:]
Taxonomy
The common name
lousewort, applied to several species, derives from an old belief that these plants, when ingested, were responsible for
lice infestations in livestock. The genus name
Pedicularis is from the
Latin language pediculus meaning louse.
Over 600 species are accepted, mostly from the wetter northern temperate zones, as well as from South America. The highest diversity is in eastern Asia, with 352 species accepted in China alone.
[Species accepted by the Flora of China (not detailed here; see external links for details).]
Selected species
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Pedicularis attollens (little elephant's head)
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Pedicularis bhutanomuscoides
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Pedicularis bracteosa (fern-leaf, towering, or bracted lousewort)
Pedicularis caeruleoalbescens Wendelbo
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Pedicularis cacuminidenta
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Pedicularis canadensis (Canadian lousewort)
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Pedicularis centranthera
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Pedicularis contorta (coiled lousewort or white-coiled beak lousewort)
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Pedicularis dasyantha (woolly lousewort)
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Pedicularis densiflora (Indian warrior)
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Pedicularis dhurensis
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Pedicularis dudleyi (Dudley's lousewort)
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Pedicularis elephantiflora
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Pedicularis flammea (redrattle)
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Pedicularis foliosa (leafy lousewort)
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Pedicularis furbishiae (Furbish's lousewort)
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Pedicularis groenlandica (elephant's head)
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Pedicularis hirsuta (hairy lousewort)
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Pedicularis howellii (Howell's lousewort)
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Pedicularis kaufmannii
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Pedicularis lanata
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Pedicularis lanceolata
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Pedicularis lapponica (Lapland lousewort)
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Pedicularis oederi (crimson-tipped lousewort)
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Pedicularis ornithorhyncha (duck's-bill/bird's-beak lousewort)
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Pedicularis oxycarpa
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Pedicularis palustris (marsh lousewort)
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Pedicularis parryi (Parry's lousewort)
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Pedicularis procera (giant lousewort)
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Pedicularis racemosa (sickle-top lousewort, parrot's beak)
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Pedicularis rainierensis (Mount Rainier lousewort)
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Pedicularis rostratocapitata
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Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum (Moor-king lousewort)
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Pedicularis semibarbata (pinewoods lousewort)
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Pedicularis sudetica (fernweed, Sudeten lousewort or Sedetic lousewort)
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Pedicularis sylvatica (common lousewort)
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Pedicularis verticillata (verticillate lousewort)
Pollination
Bombus polaris has an essential role in the pollination of the large
zygomorphic flowers of
Pedicularis.
has a special adaption that allows it to work the spikes of
Pedicularis from the bottom towards the top.
