Pedicularis crenulata

Scalloped-leaved lousewort, Scalloped-Leaved Lousewort

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Scalloped-leaved lousewort is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada near Convict Creek in Mono County, inhabiting wet meadows and streambanks at elevations of 2,100 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces white to purple flowers with a distinctive club-like corolla 20 to 26 millimeters long, featuring a hooded upper lip and a fan-like lower lip with wavy margins. Growing 12 to 40 centimeters tall with generally simple stems that are tomentose toward the tip, it develops an upright and delicate form. Its leaves are distinctive, ranging 3 to 11 centimeters long, with linear shape and scalloped (doubly crenate) margins that are thick, rolled under, and wavy with a white edge. The plant produces fruits 10 to 20 millimeters long that are roughly lanceolate in outline, completing its unique alpine meadow adaptation.

Habitat: Wet meadows, streambanks

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 2100-2300 m

Bioregions: SNE (Convict Creek, Mono Co.)

California counties: Mono

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.