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Elephant Heads
Pedicularis groenlandica
  
About Elephant Heads (Pedicularis groenlandica) 1 Nurseries Carry This Plant Pedicularis groenlandica is a showy flowering plant in the broomrape family which is known by the common names elephant's head and elephanthead lousewort. This erect plant can grow to a height of 80 centimeters. Its sharply-toothed fernlike leaves are located low on the stout stem. The stem is topped with a large flower cluster of bright pink to purple or white flowers. Each flower has a long, pointed beak which curves upward, superficially resembling the trunk of an elephant, and the lateral lobes of the flower resemble an elephant's ears. Like other louseworts and related broomrape genera, this is a root parasite which obtains nutrients from the roots of other plants by piercing them with haustoria. This plant is found in the high mountain ranges of western North America, particularly the Cascades and High Sierra, much of Canada and Greenland. It grows in wet environments such as riverbanks.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
1.3 - 2.6 ft tall

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Flower Color
Flower Color
Purple, Pink, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Nurseries
Nurseries

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Standing

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers loamy soils

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Wet meadows, streamsides, bogs

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 13.1" - 120.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.30" - 4.08", Coldest Month: 20.6" - 52.0", Hottest Month: 43.6" - 79.3", Humidity: 0.53" - 17.01", Elevation: 178" - 12226"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Elephant's Head, Elephant-head Lousewort, Elephanthead Lousewort


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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