General:
Annual or biennial herb from a spindly taproot; stems single, ascending to erect, 10-40 cm tall, simple or more commonly branched, smooth except sometimes minutely hairy in the inflorescence.

Leaves:
Basal leaves small or lacking; stem leaves alternate, unstalked, lance-oblong, 1-5 cm long, pinnately cleft to lobed, the segments toothed or entire.

Flowers:
Inflorescences several-flowered, compact, somewhat head-like clusters at the ends of branches, often elongating and with a few lower, remote, axillary flowers, the bracts similar to the leaves but reduced upward; corollas purple or two-toned pinkish and purple, 11-17 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip 4-7 mm long, slightly arched, hood-like, beakless, with or more often without a pair of slender teeth near the tip, the lower lip 3-lobed, fringed with minute hairs; calyces 4-6 mm long, 2-lobed, the lobes jaggedly toothed; stamens 4, the filaments long-hairy.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, abruptly pointy-tipped, smooth, 8-17 mm long, partly enveloped by dry expanded calyces; seeds several.

Notes:
The relationship between this species, P. macrodonta, and the entity found on the Queen Charlotte Islands that has been named P. pennellii ssp. insularis, needs further clarification. It seems best to consider them synonymous with P. parviflora ssp. parviflora.

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 pennellii subsp. insularis
Pedicularis pennellii var. insularis (Calder & Roy L. Taylor) B. Boivin