Wildflower of the valley
Hoffmeister's Lousewort
Pedicularis hoffmeisteri
- How easy to find
- Easy to see — you will see it easily on the trail
- Flower size
- Large
- Family
- Orobanchaceae (Broomrape family)
- Local name
- Haldya Phool (हलदया फूल )
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- large
- Flower colour
- yellow
- Flowering
- June to September.
About Hoffmeister's Lousewort
Pedicularis hoffmeisteri is a Perennial hairy herb of height up to 50 cm. Leaves are alternate, lower leaves are crowded. Flowers are pale yellow in color. Flowers are crowded at the terminal, lobes are toothed, leafy. Corolla tube is slender once, long and hairy. Stamens are four and found in a pair of two.
Where to find it
- Near the entrance of the valley
- In the middle of the valley
- In the deeper parts of the valley
Habitat
In mountain slopes, moist places, river and stream banks, meadows.
What the name means
Pedicularis: Latin pediculus (louse); hoffmeisteri honours the Prussian naturalist Werner Hoffmeister, killed in the 1848 Nepal expedition.
Don't confuse it with
P. punctata (sno 66) has spotted flowers; P. porrecta (sno 90) has a stretched-out spike.
