Common name:
Lousewort
Family:
Scientific name:
Pedicularis sylvatica
Main flower color:
Range:
Most of the UK; least common in central and southeast England
Height:
Up to 20 cm
Habitat:
Damp grassland, bogs, moorland, heaths; a semi-parasitic species
Flowers:
Up to 25 mm long; a pale to dark pink corolla with a straight, arched, upper lip, which has two small teeth at the tip, and a much wider, three-lobed lower lip, angled down at about 90 degrees from the tube. The calyx is inflated and strongly ribbed, with net-veins between the angles; at its mouth are four small, toothed lobes, resembling the leaves. Plants produce many stems, branching from the base, often forming mats
Leaves:
Pinnately lobed, up to 3 cm long, the segments lined by angular teeth
Season:
April to July
Rarity:
★★★★★
