Scientific name: Pedicularis sylvatica L.
Common name: Lousewort
Description
Habit: A hemiparasitic perennial, to 30 cm high.
Stems: Erect to trailing, several.
Leaves: Alternate, without stipules, 1.5-2 cm long, deeply pinnately divided into toothed or lobed lobes.
Flowers: Pinkish purple, zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, in leafy terminal spikes; calyx of 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 1 tooth on each side; stamens 4, borne on corolla tube; ovary superior, 2-celled, style 1.
Fruits: A capsule, smooth.
Habitat: Heaths, moors, peaty pockets on limestone pavement.Distribution: Frequent.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No
Subspecies:
Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. sylvatica
P. sylvatica subsp. hibernica Webb
Subsp. sylvatica, with a hairless calyx predominates in the Burren. Subsp. hibernica, with a hairy calyx, predominates in north-west of the region but there are exceptions.