Pedicularis dudleyi
Encyclopedia
Pedicularis dudleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the broomrape family
known by the common name Dudley's lousewort. It is endemic to central California
, where it is known from about ten scattered occurrences along the coast and in the coastal mountain ranges. It is a resident of forest and chaparral
habitat. This is a hairy perennial herb producing one or more stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall from a caudex
. The leaves are up to 26 centimeters long and divided into many toothed lobes or lobed leaflets. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of flowers occupying the top of the stem. Each flower is up to 2.4 centimeters long and club-shaped, with a hood-like upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. The flower is light pink or purplish with darker markings. At the base of the flowers are long-haired bract
s and woolly sepal
s. The fruit is a capsule roughly a centimeter long containing seeds with netted surfaces.
Orobanchaceae
Orobanchaceae, the broomrape family, is a family of flowering plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato...
known by the common name Dudley's lousewort. It is endemic to central California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known from about ten scattered occurrences along the coast and in the coastal mountain ranges. It is a resident of forest and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitat. This is a hairy perennial herb producing one or more stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall from a caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
. The leaves are up to 26 centimeters long and divided into many toothed lobes or lobed leaflets. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of flowers occupying the top of the stem. Each flower is up to 2.4 centimeters long and club-shaped, with a hood-like upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. The flower is light pink or purplish with darker markings. At the base of the flowers are long-haired bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s and woolly sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The fruit is a capsule roughly a centimeter long containing seeds with netted surfaces.