General:
Perennial herb from a slender branched rhizome; stems single, erect, 5-15 cm tall, unbranched, usually short-hairy or long-hairy in the inflorescence.

Leaves:
Basal leaves long-stalked, once pinnately compound, oblong to oblong-elliptic, 3-7 cm long, the leaflets pinnately cleft or dissected and toothed, hairy to smooth; stem leaves lacking or 1 or 2 below the inflorescence, alternate, reduced.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a dense, head-like, bracted, terminal spike of 1 to 8 flowers, the bracts hairy, similar to the leaves but reduced, unstalked and less divided; corollas cream or yellowish-white, often tinged with pink or purple at the tip, 25-40 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip 15-25 mm long, strongly arched, hood-like, beakless but usually with a pair of teeth near the tip, the lower lip 3-lobed, to 15 mm long; calyces 9-16 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes rather broad, 4-10 mm long, often blunt-toothed near the tip; stamens 4, the filaments smooth.

Fruits:
Capsules, 12-15 mm long; seeds several. vol5_5

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Pedicularis nelsonii R. Br.