Scientific name: Pedicularis palustris L.
Common name: Marsh Lousewort
Description
Habit: A hemiparasitic annual or biennial, to 60 cm high.
Stems: Erect, single, freely branching.
Leaves: Alternate, without stipules, 3-5 cm long, deeply pinnately divided into toothed or lobed lobes.
Flowers: Pinkish-purple, zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, in leafy terminal spikes; calyx hairy, 4-5 sepals fused and becoming inflated, irregularly 4-lobed, lobes toothed; corolla of 4-5 petals fused, 2-lipped, lower lip 3-lobed, upper lip with 2 teeth on each margin; stamens 4, borne on corolla tube; ovary superior, 2-celled, style 1.
Fruits: A capsule, smooth.
Habitat: Marshes and other wet habitats.Distribution: Frequent but rather local.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No