365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Pedicularis Bracteosa, Bracted Lousewort
Day 290: If not as colourful as the Indian Paintbrush of the subalpine meadows, the Louseworts nevertheless put on a good show in shades of yellow, creamy white and purple. They also present something the Paintbrushes lack: a variety of flower shapes. The corollas of these species are characterized by two lips, upper and lower. In some, the upper lip forms an elongated hood-like structure (the galea) which covers and surrounds the stamens, a specialization factor which permits them to be fertilized only by select pollinators. The galea may terminate in a short beak as in the case of Bracted Lousewort show here, or it may form a coil (Coiled-beak Lousewort) or even an "elephant's trunk" (Elephant-head Pedicularis). Eight species and sub-species are known to occur in Mount Rainier National Park.
Labels:
Bracted Lousewort,
MORA,
Pedicularis bracteosa
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