Pedicularis

[Carlo]

The photo of Pedicularis variegata in the December 2008 issue of The Alpine Gardener (p. 456) has reinvigorated my interest in the genus. Does anyone know of (or can you recommend) a good review of the genus, its natural history and cultivation? I've seen the Flora of China treatment and an article or two here and there, but is there an overview anywhere?

[David Nicholson]

Found this on Google Carlo. Maybe because of your professional capacity you are able to log in to it?

http://www.naturalstandard.com/naturalstandard/scripts/serverside/login.asp

[Carlo]

Thanks David. I am not able to log in without a fee based membership--and it's a site about things other than horticulture/botany/gardening. Although the medicinal/health supplement use of various plants is interesting, it's not the information I'm looking for.

[gote]

Carlo,
I have never actually grown Pedicularis but I have one observation.
As you surely know, these are semiparasites and the problem might be to find out which plants are suitable as hosts.
I once came across P lapponica and P. hirsuta growing in stony ground. As we all know, roots have a tendency to follow any hard surfaces be they inside of pots or stones in the rockery.
I started lifting likely stones and I soon found clearly visibly pedicularis roots making contact with the hosts.
I recommend the method where possible.  In these cases I identified the hosts as Salix herbacea and possibly S reticulata.
(Reticulata is well worth growing and not difficult (in my place)).
I later found that no Pedicularis lapponica could be found (at least not in that area and by me) unless there was a Salix herbacea nearby.
Good luck
Gφte
 

[Carlo]

I've germinated seed of Chinese Pedicularis and had them growing in pots with host plants--until they were weeded out by staff who thought they couldn't possibly be the desired plant in the pot.........oooof. I don't believe them to be extraordinarily difficult in cultivation--especially when you see the things forum members are growing.

I am interested in more information on the genus and it's species--surely very desirable and beautiful plants.

[Diane Whitehead]

I'm copying some of my own messages in a thread on this topic in
Alpine-L.

The AGS has an online index of all the plants that have been mentioned in their Bulletin, so I looked up
"Pedicularis" and chose the one that had the most pages listed. 

Louseworts in Sichuan and Qinghai by John and Hilary Birks,  The Alpine Gardener, September 2002.

Beautiful pictures, and a most interesting article, but I was wrong in thinking that they have successfully
grown them.

=============================================
and from an article about establishing Primula meadows:
The Cultivation of Primula in Meadows
 by JAMES HITCHMOUGH and SALLY INNES

It's an article in The Plantsman, June 2007, on the RHS site:
  http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B0ADAE33-6AEF-4BBF-8DC0-383F63D0C82D/0/Primula.pdf


Many Primula from the Sino-Himalayan region grow in grasslands
rich in hemiparasites, particularly Pedicularis(Birks & Birks 2002). It is
not known whether Primula are actively parasitised by Pedicularis, but
a frequently observed effect of these parasites is an overall reduction in
grassland productivity, and hence potential competition .

[Maggi Young]

Here are the list of Pedicularis references form the SRGC Journal Index ....
online here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/index/SRGC%20Introduction%20&%20Index.pdf

Pedicularis amoena : 15/119
— atropurpurea : 17/287
— attollens : 6/267
— barrelieri : 16/180
— bicornuta : 25/383
— bracteosa : 15/5
— caucasica : 17/126, 121/76
— comosa : 8/167, 121/76, 78, 80, 80C
— condensata : 17/287
— flammea : 11/44
— flava : 12/177
— groenlandica : 11/296*; 15/6, 66
— hirsuta : 16/258; 120/108
— hoffmeisteri : 26/208
— kerneri : 26/305
— lapponica : 15/115; 116/100
— longiflora tubiformis : 19/177; 120/85C, 87
— oederi : 10/54; 15/112B, 117
— ornithorhyncha : 15/6
— panjutinii : 17/289
— pontica : 121/80
— racemosa : 11/294
— rhinanthoides : 26/200C, 206; 111/19
— rostrato-rapitata : 17/53
— sp. : 6/123
— sudetica : 15/117
— tuberosa : 18/73
— verticillata : 10/53, 54; 16/181

Lunch is calling me at the moment,  so I haven't yet checked to see which might give cultivation advice......