Pedicularis

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Pedicularis bracteosa 7613.JPG | image_caption = ''Pedicularis bracteosa'' | taxon = Pedicularis | authority = L.\ | subdivision = 650+, see text | synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} * ''Elephantella'' Rydb. * ''Enslenia'' Raf. * ''Nelensia'' Poir. * ''Pediculariopsis'' Á.Löve & D.Löve * ''Prosopia'' Rchb. * ''Scepanium'' Ehrh. * ''Sceptrum'' J.O.Rudbeck ex Hartm. {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Pedicularis''''' is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae ''sensu lato''<ref>[http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=scrophulariaceae&find_genus=pedicularis&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearch IPNI (''Pedicularis'' assigned to ''Scrophulariaceae'')]</ref>). [[File:Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum - Inflorescence - Niitvälja bog.jpg|thumb|230px|''Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum'' (Moor-king lousewort)]] [[File:Pedicularis semibarbata ssp charlestonensis 7.jpg|thumb|230px|''Pedicularis semibarbata'' ssp ''charlestonensis'' (pinewoods lousewort)]] thumbnail|Pollination [[File:Pedicularis zeylanica-Silent Valley-2016-08-13-001.jpg|thumb|230px|''Pedicularis zeylanica'']] ==Uses== Pedicularis is used medicinally in teas and smoking blends.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/Mountain_States_Medicinal_Plants.html?id=rDI_DwAAQBAJ#v=onepage&q=pedicularis%20smoking&f=false Mountain States Medicinal Plants by Briana Wiles:]</ref>

==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.{{r|jepson}}{{r|wisflora}} The genus name ''Pedicularis'' is from the Latin {{Lang|la|pediculus}} meaning louse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Dennis |editor-last1=Horn |editor-first1=Dennis |editor-last2=Cathcart |editor-first2=Tavia |editor-last3=Hemmerly |editor-first3=Thomas E. |editor-last4=Duhl |editor-first4=David |title=Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians: the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society |date=2005 |publisher=Lone Pine Publications |location=Auburn, WA, USA |isbn=978-1-55105-428-5 |page=288}}</ref> 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.<ref>Species accepted by the ''Flora of China'' (not detailed here; see external links for details).</ref><ref name="oneill_rana_2016">{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. R.| last2=Rana | first2= S. K. | date=2019 |title=An ethnobotanical analysis of parasitic plants (Parijibi) in the Nepal Himalaya |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=12 |issue=14 |page=14|doi=10.1186/s13002-016-0086-y |pmid=26912113|pmc=4765049|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Selected species=== {{Main|List of Pedicularis species}} {{Div col}} *''Pedicularis attollens'' (little elephant's head) *''Pedicularis bhutanomuscoides'' *''Pedicularis bracteosa'' (fern-leaf, towering, or bracted lousewort) Pedicularis caeruleoalbescens Wendelbo *''Pedicularis cacuminidenta'' *''Pedicularis canadensis'' (Canadian lousewort) *''Pedicularis centranthera'' *''Pedicularis contorta'' (coiled lousewort or white-coiled beak lousewort) *''Pedicularis dasyantha'' (woolly lousewort) *''Pedicularis densiflora'' (Indian warrior) *''Pedicularis dhurensis'' *''Pedicularis dudleyi'' (Dudley's lousewort)<ref>{{citation | title = The Status of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Animals and Plants of California | publisher = California Department of Fish and Game, Rare Plant Program | date = 2000 | page = 181 | url = http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/species/t_e_spp/docs/2000/t_e11plants.pdf | access-date = 2007-11-16}}</ref> *''Pedicularis elephantiflora'' *''Pedicularis flammea'' (redrattle) *''Pedicularis foliosa'' (leafy lousewort) *''Pedicularis furbishiae'' (Furbish's lousewort) *''Pedicularis groenlandica'' (elephant's head) *''Pedicularis hirsuta'' (hairy lousewort) *''Pedicularis howellii'' (Howell's lousewort) *''Pedicularis kaufmannii'' *''Pedicularis lanata'' *''Pedicularis lanceolata'' *''Pedicularis lapponica'' (Lapland lousewort) *''Pedicularis oederi'' (crimson-tipped lousewort) *''Pedicularis ornithorhyncha'' (duck's-bill/bird's-beak lousewort) *''Pedicularis oxycarpa'' *''Pedicularis palustris'' (marsh lousewort) *''Pedicularis parryi'' (Parry's lousewort) *''Pedicularis procera'' (giant lousewort) *''Pedicularis racemosa'' (sickle-top lousewort, parrot's beak) *''Pedicularis rainierensis'' (Mount Rainier lousewort) *''Pedicularis rostratocapitata'' *''Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum'' (Moor-king lousewort) *''Pedicularis semibarbata'' (pinewoods lousewort) *''Pedicularis sudetica'' (fernweed, Sudeten lousewort or Sedetic lousewort) *''Pedicularis sylvatica'' (common lousewort) *''Pedicularis verticillata'' (verticillate lousewort) {{Div col end}}

==Pollination== ''Bombus polaris'' has an essential role in the pollination of the large zygomorphic flowers of ''Pedicularis''.<ref name="Kevan-1972">{{Cite journal|title = Insect Pollination of High Arctic Flowers|jstor = 2258569|journal = Journal of Ecology|date = 1972-11-01|pages = 831–847|volume = 60|issue = 3|doi = 10.2307/2258569|first = Peter G.|last = Kevan| bibcode=1972JEcol..60..831K }}</ref> ''B. polaris'' has a special adaption that allows it to work the spikes of ''Pedicularis'' from the bottom towards the top.<ref name="Kevan-1972" />

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=jepson>[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Pedicularis Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Pedicularis'']</ref> <ref name=wisflora>{{cite web |title=Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin - Pedicularis canadensis |url=http://wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu/taxa/index.php?taxon=4443 |website=wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> }} *[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Pedicularis&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=species Flora Europaea: ''Pedicularis'']

Category:Pedicularis Category:Orobanchaceae genera Category:Parasitic plants Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus