Swamp Lousewort. Summary. Protection Threatened in New York State, not listed federally.

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1 Swamp Lousewort Scientific Name Family Name Pedicularis lanceolata Michx. Scrophulariaceae Figwort Family Did you know? The common name lousewort, applied to several species of Pedicularis, derives from an old belief that these plants, when ingested, were responsible for lice infestations in stock (Pedicularis in Wikipedia, accessed 16 November 2007). Like other species of Pedicularis, swamp lousewort is hemiparasitic. This means it is parasitic on the roots of other plants, and draws nutrients directly from them as well as using chlorophyll. Summary Protection Threatened in New York State, not listed federally. This level of state protection means: listed species are those with: 1) 6 to fewer than 20 extant sites, or 2) 1,000 to fewer than 3,000 individuals, or 3) restricted to not less than 4 or more than 7 U.S.G.S. 7 ½ minute topographical maps, or 4) listed as threatened by U.S. Department of Interior. Rarity G5, S2S3 A global rarity rank of G5 means: This species is demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. A state rarity rank of S2S3 means: Imperiled or Vulnerable in New York - Very vulnerable to disappearing from New York, or vulnerable to becoming imperiled in New York, due to rarity or other factors; typically 6 to 80 populations or locations in New York, few individuals, restricted range, few remaining acres (or miles of stream), and/or recent and widespread declines. More information is needed to assign a single conservation status. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata)

2 Conservation Status in New York There are 19 existing populations and about half of these are in good to excellent condition with hundreds of plants each. Many of the small populations are in protected areas. About 15 of the 25 historical records have been extirpated by development around the New York City area. There is a small chance that a few historical records from the Lower Hudson region could be rediscovered. Short-term Trends The short-term trends seem stable as most populations are large enough and protected to persist. Long-term Trends Many of the historical records from the New York City and Lower Hudson area have been extirpated, but this loss has been offset by many new discoveries in central and western New York. Conservation and Management Threats One population near a railroad track could be sprayed by herbicide during track maintenance. The exotic invasive grass Microstegium vimineum may aggressively crowd out plants in their open wetland habitats. Conservation Strategies and Management Practices Establish sufficient buffers around populations to preserve the undisturbed aspect and hydrology of their habitat. Habitat In New York Swamp Lousewort occurs in a variety of wetland habitats, usually with an open or absent canopy. It occupies rich fens, where it may grow among Sphagnum with other calciphilic species, as well as in freshwater tidal marshes and swamps, and along the edges of ponds or shrub swamps. This species may benefit from some level of disturbance, as many of the known sites for it have been grazed or cut-over, or are along roadsides, right-of-ways, and trails. (New York Natural Heritage Program 2007). Rich, often calcareous, meadows and shores (Fernald 1970). Swamps and wet soil (Gleason 1952). Associated Ecological Communities Freshwater Tidal Swamp A forested or shrub-dominated tidal wetland that occurs in lowlands along large river systems characterized by gentle slope gradients coupled with tidal influence over considerable distances. The swamp substrate is always wet and is subject to semidiurnal flooding by fresh tidal water (salinity less than 0.5 ppt). Marl Fen NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 2

3 A wetland that occurs on a bed of marl. Marl is a whitish substance that is deposited from water that has a lot of calcium dissolved in it. The whitish substance is calcium carbonate, people used to harvest marl to lime agricultural fields. The marl substrate is always saturated, may be flooded, and has a very high ph, generally greater than 7.5. The main source of water is always groundwater. The plants are often sparse and stunted. Marl fens may occur as small patches within a rich graminoid fen. Red Maple-hardwood Swamp A hardwood swamp that occurs in poorly drained depressions, usually on inorganic soils. Red maple is usually the most abundant canopy tree, but it can also be codominant with white, green, or black ash; white or slippery elm; yellow birch; and swamp white oak. Rich Graminoid Fen A wetland of mostly grasses usually fed by water from highly calcareous springs or seepage. These waters have high concentrations of minerals and high ph values, generally from 6.0 to 7.8. Plant remains do not decompose rapidly and these grasses usually grow on older, undecomposed plant parts. Shrub Swamp An inland wetland dominated by tall shrubs that occurs along the shore of a lake or river, in a wet depression or valley not associated with lakes, or as a transition zone between a marsh, fen, or bog and a swamp or upland community. Shrub swamps are very common and quite variable. Associated Species Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Sweetflag (Acorus americanus) Swamp Agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora) Speckled Alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa) Brook-side Alder (Alnus serrulata) American Hogpeanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) Great Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea) American Groundnut (Apios americana) Small-flower Bitter-cress (Cardamine parviflora) Golden-fruited Sedge (Carex aurea) Bromelike Sedge (Carex bromoides) Bristly Sedge (Carex comosa) Crested Sedge (Carex cristatella) Porcupine Sedge (Carex hystericina) Drooping Sedge (Carex prasina) Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta) Fox Sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) Pale Dogwood (Cornus amomum) Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa) Narrow-leaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 3

4 Bald Spikerush (Eleocharis erythropoda) Beaked Spike-rush (Eleocharis rostellata) Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) Variegated Horsetail (Equisetum variegatum) Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) Spotted Joepyeweed (Eutrochium maculatum) Greater Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) Hypnum lindbergii Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) Blueflag (Iris versicolor) Knotted Rush (Juncus nodosus) Tamarack (Larix laricina) Rice Cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor) Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) Yellowseed False Pimpernel (Lindernia dubia) Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii) Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) Morrow Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) Northern Bugleweed (Lycopus uniflorus) Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Little False Solomon s-seal (Maianthemum stellatum) Wild Bergamot Bee-balm (Monarda fistulosa) Mexican Muhly (Muhlenbergia mexicana) True Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) Carolina Grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia glauca) Halberd-leaf Tearthumb (Persicaria arifolia) Common Reed (Phragmites australis) Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) Springs Clearweed (Pilea fontana) Canada Clearweed (Pilea pumila) Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Tall Butter-cup (Ranunculus acris) Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) Common Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) Woolgrass Bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens) Low Nutrush (Scleria verticillata) Mad-dog Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) Roundleaf Goldenrod (Solidago patula) Rough-leaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) Common Water-flaxseed (Spirodela polyrrhiza) Purplestem Aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 4

5 Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris) Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) Slender Bog Arrow-grass (Triglochin palustris) Broad-leaf Cattail (Typha latifolia) Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Culver's-root (Veronicastrum virginicum) Southern Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) Identification Comments Swamp lousewort is an herbaceous wetland wildflower growing in usually solitary stalks from 3 to 8 dm high. The leaves are opposite, 5-10 cm long, and pinnately lobed less than halfway to the midvein throughout, somewhat resembling the pinnae of a fern. The pale yellow flowers are 15 to 25mm long and born in a dense spike near the top of the stem. They are 2-lipped, the upper lip galeated (hooded) and exceeding the lower to form a beak-like shape. The fruit are dry capsules, mostly hidden from view by the green calyx. Best Life Stage for Identifying This Species Swamp lousewort is most easily spotted when in flower, but can be identified from vegetative or fruiting stems as well. The Best Time to See Pedicularis lanceolata flowers from late August to early October, and fruits persist to the end of November or sometimes until the next spring. Vegetative Flowering Fruiting Similar Species Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec The time of year you would expect to find Swamp Lousewort in New York. Pedicularis canadensis is shorter, usually forming clumps with many crowded basal leaves, and has petioled leaves scattered on the stem, not opposite. It also is primarily a plant of uplands, not wetlands. Taxonomy Kingdom Plantae Phylum Anthophyta NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 5

6 Class Dicots (Dicotyledoneae) Order Scrophulariales Family Additional Common Names Lousewort Wood-betony Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family) Additional Resources Links USDA Plants Database PEDICULARIS+LANCEOLATA NatureServe Explorer OLATA Google Images New England Plant Conservation Program eolata.pdf+pedicularis+lanceolata,+root+parasite&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us Missouri Plants New York Flora Atlas Best Identification Reference Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp. References Crow, Garrett E. and C. Barre Hellquist Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Northeastern North America: A revised and enlarged edition of Norman C. Fassett's a Manual of Aquatic Plants. Volume One: Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms: Dicotyledons. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, Wisconsin. 536 Pages. Fernald, M.L Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. D. Van Nostrand, New York pp. Holmgren, Noel The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 6

7 NatureServe NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA New York Natural Heritage Program Biotics database. New York Natural Heritage Program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. Newcomb, Lawrence Newcomb's Wildflower Guide: An Ingenious New Key System for Quick, Positive Field Identification of the Wildflowers, Flowering Shrubs, and Vines of Northeastern and North-Central North America. Little, Brown and Company. Boston. Rhoads, Ann F. and Timothy A. Block The Plants of Pennsylvania, an Illustrated Manual. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA. Voss, Edward G Michigan Flora Part III. Dicots Concluded (Pyrolaceae - Compositae). Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 61 and University of Michigan Herbarium. 622 pp. Weldy, T. and D. Werier New York flora atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research University of South Florida New York Flora Association Albany, New York Weldy, Troy W. and David Werier New York Flora Atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. New York Flora Association, Albany, NY. Available on the web at ( New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY Phone: (518) acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program - Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Aug 24, 2017 This guide was authored by NYNHP Conservation Guide - Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) 7