Pedicularis canadensis L.

vernacular Canadian lousewort — species · Scrophulariaceae

USDA: PECA
GBIF: 3171674
Rank: species

Canadian lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis) — Platephotograph · Brett WhaleyCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Scrophulariaceae Juss.
Genus: Pedicularis

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -43 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 120 min.
Precipitation: 34–60 in/yr
pH range: 4–7
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 1.3 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Gray-Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Black
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: Low
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 400,000
Propagation: seed, bare root

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 3 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PECA ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3171674 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z