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Photographer: Keir Morse
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Family Scrophulariaceae
Pedicularis lanceolata Michx.
fen betony, swamp betony, swamp-lousewort
Pedicularis: from the Latin pediculus meaning "louse," referring to the old English belief that when cattle grazed on these plants, they became infested with lice
lanceolata: lance-shaped
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb; stems mostly solitary; partially parasitic |
| Flower: | yellow, 5-parted, 3/4"-1" long, tubular-shaped, upper lip entire with the hooded tip covering the 4 stamens, lower lip almost as long as upper; inflorescence a leafy, conical spike both terminal and from the upper leaf axils; blooms Aug.-Sept. |
| Fruit: | capsule, opening at the top |
| Leaf: | mostly opposite, short-stalked, long, finely pinnately-toothed |
| Habitat: | wet; meadows, prairies, marshes, shores; in limy soil |
| (Glossary) |
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