New territory – Pedicularis

More seed adventures as I enter a new territory – that of the hemi-parasitic plants. Many beautiful and garden desirable species belong to this category, some not impossible to grow from seeds, most notably Castilleja spp. and Pedicularis spp. (Orobanchaceae, formerly Scrophulariaceae).
By coincidence, just after I collected a few Castilleja coccinea seeds, someone asked me if I would be interested in hemi-parasitic plants. And so, I got the chance to exchange it for Pedicularis oederi seeds ;)

Pedicularis oederi, Oeder’s lousewort, is an alpine species found in China, Japan, Russia, C and N. Europe (very rare in the Carpathian Mts.), and North America. Like many other Pedicularis spp., it has beautiful ferny looking foliage and it flowers for a very long time, producing yellow/crimson tipped flowers.

Pedicularis oederi – growing in the Carpathian Mts. at aprox. 2000 m alt.

Another Pedicularis that I am dreaming to grow one day is Pedicularis verticillata – whorled lousewort or Bumblebee flower, with whorled inflorescences of rich, purple-pink flowers. It grows in alpine tundra turf and rocky slopes from Japan, Russia, arctic C, N, and S Europe to NW America.

Pedicularis verticillata with Bistorta vivipara in the Carpathian Mts.

An alpine meadow with Pedicularis verticillata in flower it is a sight to behold.

The good news is that most hemi-parasitic plants have a wide range of hosts and have been shown to germinate even without their presence. Various Pedicularis are parasitic on species of Poaceae, Ericaceae, Salix, Aster; but many others species have been also cited as hosts. Most notably, a study done on Bartsia alpina and Pedicularis lapponica found that both would form haustorial connections with Pinguicula vulgaris (Lentibulariaceae).

One method that is working somehow for these plants, involves the direct sowing outdoors – if you have something looking like a natural meadow, which I don’t. For my experiment, I split the P. oederi seeds in 4 portions. Even if I am not successful, I am sure I will learn something from it.

– Seeds sown by a gardening friend outdoors in the vicinity of an Erica plant.
– Seeds sown at our place, outdoors in the vicinity of Polygonum affine and Deschampsia caespitosa.
– Seeds sown together with Pinguicula vulgaris in a pot that will undergo cold/stratification outside over the winter.
– Few remaining seeds will be sown together with Carex grayi (a nice NA native sedge that can grow in full sun).

But there are many other wonderful Pedicularis out there! The excitement of a new territory…

Update 2016: I wasn’t succesful with any of the above,yet. Sometimes it takes 2 years for seeds to germinate so the ones in pots are not a lost cause. The ones sown in situ probably have been disturbed by the squirrels. More sowings have been done, this time only in pots in pieces of turf. One has to persevere :)