Image of beaked lousewort

Description:

Slo.:glaviasti uivec - syn.: Pedicularis rostato-capitata, Pedicularis jacquinii Koch. - Habitat: alpine grassland, gently eastward sloping terrain, shallow calcareous skeletal ground with some silicate, relatively dry and warm place, full sun; exposed to direct rain; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 0-2 deg C, elevation 1.960 m (6.400 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. - Substratum: soil. - Comment: This beautifully colored member of genus Pedicularis is quite common on Mangart's flats. Otherwise it is limited to east half of the Alps but can be found on Balkan Peninsula and Carpathians too. There are six similar species of this genus growing in Slovenia having more or less reddish flowers. But Pedicularis rostratocapitata is easy to recognize among them. It has very characteristic calyx. Its calyx is (almost - compared to other Pedicularis species) glabrous and has typical 'decoration' at the end of calyx segments (see picture #4). Another easy to see feature of the flower is a long beak at the end of galea (the helmet shaped upper lip of corolla), which reflects also in its Latin species name: 'rostrum' means 'beak' and 'capitatus' means 'having a head'. But there are also other species of Pedicularis, which have similar beaks. So, this beak represents only a required but not a sufficient trait for determination. - Ref.: (1) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 569. (2) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 938. (3) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 268. (4) Rothmaler 3, Exkursionsflora von Deutschland, 11. Aufl., Elsevier, Spectrum (