Herbs not drying black. Stems 1 to several together, usually many branched apically. Stem leaves alternate or opposite, linear-lanceolate to ovate, pinnatifid to pinnatisect. Flowers loosely racemose. Calyx 2- or 3-lobed. Corolla tube slightly exceeding calyx; galea 1-toothed on each side at apex; lower lip ca. as long as galea.

Twelve species: arctic and subarctic regions of both hemispheres; three species in China.

This series was formerly treated as ser. Palustres Maximowicz that included the type of the genus Pedicularis, P. sylvatica Linnaeus.

Lower Taxa

• Pedicularis kiangsiensis P. C. Tsoong & S. H. Cheng
• Pedicularis labradorica Wirsing
• Pedicularis palustris Linnaeus