Pedicularis lapponica

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Pedicularis lapponica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Pedicularis
Species:
P. lapponica
Binomial name
Pedicularis lapponica
L., 1753
Synonyms
  • Pedicularis euphrasioides Cham.
  • Pedicularis obliqua Adams

Pedicularis lapponica, the Lapland lousewort, is a perennial hemiparasitic species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae with yellow to creme coloured flowers.[1]

Description[edit]

The plant has an unbranched (or very rarely branched) stem of 10–25 cm tall which grows from a creeping rootstock with long slender rhizomes.[2] No rosette is present. Stem leaves are narrow, elongated, and compound with toothed sections, the lower on long petioles. The inflorescence is capitate. The corolla is up to 2 centimeters long and is usually milk white.[3] It is surrounded by toothed sepals. The fruit is a flat, beaked capsule 8–13 millimetres (0.31–0.51 in) long.

Compared to P. lanata, P. lapponica has a breeding system with a lower capacity for outcrossing in West Greenland (Disko) and less morphological variation.

It is perennial (in some cases biennial).

Distribution[edit]

Pedicularis lapponica is widely distributed on the northern hemisphere in the arctic and boreal zone.[4]

In Greenland it is found in West Greenland between 62°N and 72°30’N and in East Greenland between 69°N and Bessel Fjord, 75°58'N.[5]

Habitat and ecology[edit]

Pedicularis lapponica is hemiparasitic on a number of host species.[6] It is found in arctic to alpine tundras, heathlands, moist hummocky tundras, and dwarf shrub heath.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Böcher, Tyge Wittrock (1978). Grønlands flora. P. Haase & Sons. ISBN 87-559-0385-1. OCLC 183098604.
  2. ^ "Lapland Lousewort, Pedicularis lapponica - Flowers - NatureGate". luontoportti.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  3. ^ Rune, Flemming (2011). Wild flowers of Greenland = Grønlands vilde planter. Gyldenlund. OCLC 794007591.
  4. ^ "Pedicularis lapponica L." www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  5. ^ Bay, Christian (2020-04-10). "Four decades of new vascular plant records for Greenland". PhytoKeys (145): 63–92. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.145.39704. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 7165197. PMID 32327927.
  6. ^ Nilsson, Carin H.; Svensson, Brita M. (January 1997). "Host affiliation in two subarctic hemiparasitic plants:Bartsia alpinaandPedicularis lapponica". Écoscience. 4 (1): 80–85. doi:10.1080/11956860.1997.11682380. ISSN 1195-6860.