Index / Search / Pedicularis groenlandica

§1 Plant — species · Scrophulariaceae

Pedicularis groenlandica Retz.

vernacular elephanthead lousewort


USDA
PEGR2
GBIF
3171729
Rank
species
elephanthead lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica)
Platephotograph · Jerry OldenettelCC BY-NC-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Scrophulariaceae Juss.
Genus
Pedicularis
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • GL Greenland Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Medium
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-33 °F minimum
Frost-free days
90 min.
Precipitation
10–50 in/yr
pH range
5.8–7.2
Root depth
8 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Short
Mature height
2.5 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Moderate
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
175,000
Propagation
seed, bare root
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 15 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/PEGR2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/3171729 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z