Pedicularis groenlandica (Elephant Head) - photos and description
Stem
leaf in above photo
Basal
leaf in above photo
General: Erect plants with stout stems often growing in clumps. Plants glabrous.
Flowers: Showy, terminal spikes of magenta flowers, flowers measured to 1 cm long, spike to 13 cm long. Flowers identify the plant, resembling an elephant's head, ears and trunk. Flowers with a slight fragrance. Lobed bract under each flower.
Leaves: Leaves lanceolate, pinnately lobed, leaflets serrate and leaflets often purple-tipped. Leaves reduced upwards, stem leaves alternate and opposite, and have a short stalk. Basal leaf highlighted in photo above was measured at 11 cm long and 2.5 cm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 60 cm, we measured plants to 49 cm tall.
Habitat: Fens and wet meadows, boreal forest, western edge of the province.
Abundance: Very rare, ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: Took the above photos July 3rd in a roadside wet meadow Boreal forest, about 500 km northwest of our home in Regina, SK.