Pedicularis sylvatica

Perennial of the Orobanchaceae family, widespread in much of Western and Atlantic Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles and up to Central Europe. It occupies wet heaths, bogs, acidic grasslands, and marshy meadows, from lowlands to medium altitudes, on acidic, poor, and constantly moist soils.

The plant forms small, sprawling, and very low tufts, rarely above 10 cm, with an upright central stem and prostrate lateral branches giving it a particularly flattened appearance.

The foliage is pinnatifid, with crenate segments, often a green strongly tinged with red-purple, giving the tuft a very dark and characteristic overall coloration, clearly visible even before the flowers open. The bilabiate flowers, pale pink to lilac-pink, have an unnotched galea, distinguishing them from several related species.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from April to July depending on latitude and altitude.

Like all louseworts, it is hemiparasitic, attaching to the roots of various neighboring plants without dependence on a particular host, making any attempt at garden cultivation very difficult.