Pedicularis groenlandica

Elephant's head

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Elephant's head is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada Highlands in wet meadows, streamsides, and bogs at elevations of 1,000 to 3,600 meters. Flowering from June to September, this distinctive plant produces light pink to red-purple flowers with a unique shape, resembling an elephant's head with a curved hood and narrow, upward-pointing beak. Growing 8 to 80 centimeters tall with nearly glabrous stems, it forms an upright, elegant structure in wet mountain habitats. Its basal leaves are approximately lanceolate, divided into 25 to 51 linear to oblong segments that are finely toothed, creating a delicate, feathery appearance. The flower's lower lip features distinctive lateral lobes that look remarkably like small ears, giving the plant its whimsical common name.

Habitat: Wet meadows, streamsides, bogs

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: 1000-3600 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, SNH

California counties: Mono, Merced, Plumas, Fresno, Tuolumne, Tulare, Mariposa, Placer, Madera, Sierra, Modoc, Shasta, Inyo, Kern, Nevada, Alpine, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lassen, Siskiyou, Tehama, Butte

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