Pedicularis racemosa, parrot beak

Pedicularis racemosa

Pedicularis racemosa, Leafy parrot beak 

 Leafy Sickletop Lousewort, Parrots Beak Pedicularis 

Selkirk mountain meadows

On the endless medicine road today with Orobanchaceae Pedicularis racemosa. 

https://youtu.be/k1uFBwBuI-g

     Selkirk mts 6000 ft. Known by the names Selkirk Sickletop Lousewort, Parrot's-Beak, leafy lousewort. A perennial from a thick stem-base from thick fibrous roots. Leaves unlike many Pedicularis with a fern like leaf pattern leaves of P. racemosa are entire lance like, deeply toothed opposite. 

Lance leafed toothed opposite

     The flowers in a terminal raceme of several flowers. corollas cream yellow 2-lipped with the bottom in three fused lobes with the upper arched and hooded, in a long curved delicate beak curved down in a graceful arch towards the lower lip. It's range is from salt lake utah and mountains northward into British Columbia. It is found below coniferous forests.

Parrot beak upper lobe curves down

     Its energetics are cooling, slightly bitter, with demulcent sweetness. It can be considered as a skeletal muscle relaxant with mild pain relieving qualities and tends towards nervine consideration with sleep inducing, relaxing qualities. If a person has trouble sleeping due to muscular spasm and pain, whether recent or long standing Pedicularis racemosa is a good candidate. Especially for weekend warriors, after long distance training sessions, cycling, backpacking, running, cross country skiing, weight lifting or heavy repetitive labor splittingwood, stacking bales of hay etc. Also for electro chemical nocturnal muscle spasms and cramps. 

Pedicularis racemosa, leafy Lousewort 

      Pedicularis racemosa due to its unwinding, calming and laid back quality is often thought of as a nighttime herb. Some find it useful as an aphrodisiac where anxiety and tension are interfering with intimacy. Some people describe pedicularis like walking on the moon, dreamy, like your lower limbs are not fully connected. Other people find pedicularis appropriate for day time use as relieving social anxiety and calming the mind, softening the armour. 

    Pedicularis can be used alone or with other herbs for a sleep formula, valeriana and 5% pulsatilla works well, other candidates would be hops, skullcap. Because it has antispasmodic qualities it can be added to cough formulas with cherry bark, Angelica root, arrow leaf balsalm root. For menstrual cramps it goes well with Actea rubra. For hot flashes Angelica, lycopus, and Pedicularis can be effective for some. 

Terminal flower raceme

     One thing to be aware of is there are many kinds of pedicularis species and they are going to interact differently. It's important to develop a relationship with the herbalist to get continuity. You want to experiment with how a particular species is going to unfold for you. I have harvested and made medicine with at least 5 different species, and they are all slightly different, from tiny dwarf species to 6 foot tall giants, from the madrean sky islands to the Selkirks. Important to work with someone who knows and works with it.

Finely toothed leaf edge

     Finally being a parasitic herb connected by root  to specific immediate host plants, it's important to understand these host plants. Pedicularis can be thought of as itself and some quality of the host. Certain plants make the pedicularis unusable and potentially dangerous. Senicio with poisonous alkaloids, Helenium hoopesii with helenalin and other lactones, lupine, and other questionable plants nearby mean that particular pedicularis is unusable and to be left alone. When harvesting it's important to be cognizant of these relationships. In general you want a neutral plant host. This stand of Pedicularis racemosa was growing in open coniferous forest meadow, under sub alpine fir and dwarf huckleberry Vaccinium. 

Endless Medicine Road