Furbish's Lousewort
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Furbish's Lousewort Throughout the world, Furbish's Lousewort ( Pedicularis furbishiae ) is found only on the shores of the upper St. John River in Maine and New Brunswick. Because there are only five known locations for the plant in Canada (all are between Grand Falls and Perth Andover), the Lousewort is protected under the federal Species at Risk Act and New Brunswick's Endangered Species Act. An inconspicuous and intriguing plant, Furbish's Lousewort, is the botanical gem of the St. John River valley. Spot the Lousewort
Furbish's Lousewort is certainly not distinguished by large and showy flowers. In fact, looking for the Lousewort takes a very keen pair of eyes to differentiate it from surrounding grasses and flowers. The Lousewort is a perennial herb that averages 75 cm in height. During its first few years of growth, it forms a basal rosette of deeply incised fern-like leaves. Usually after three years the Lousewort begins to flower, often from a single, slightly hairy and reddish tinged stem with a few branches near the top. Furbish's Lousewort flowers are small, yellow and snap dragon-like. They are clustered in a short cylindrical head, and open sequentially from the lower to the upper-most between July and August. Homeground
Furbish's Lousewort tends to occur on moist, unstable, semi-shaded, eroding banks subject to flooding, and ice-scouring. The natural disturbance dynamics along these banks periodically remove much of the competing vegetation from the shoreline. As a weak competitor with other plants, this disturbance both prevents the Lousewort from being crowded out, and also opens up new ground for colonization. Forest canopies above shoreline also seem to be important to healthy Lousewort populations. They provide shade, help maintain soil water moisture and moss cover. Adjacent forested habitats may also act as refuge zones when severe ice scouring and flooding decimate lower lying populations. Helping Out Ecologists call Furbish's Lousewort a 'fugitive species' , a plant-on-the-run! Because of the Lousewort's physiology and the dynamic nature of its habitat, populations tend to blink on and off unpredictably. It tends to disappear from one location and turn up unexpectedly in another location. Landowners and users of the the St John River valley can help support possible future and current Lousewort populations by maintaining the natural quality of the shoreline habitat . Clearing of river bank vegetation, dumping, filling in the shoreline, and careless recreational use of shorelines may all adversely affect the shoreline ecosystem.
A Brief History Kate Furbish, a keen collector and botanical artist, has the honour of being the first to collect Furbish's Lousewort (in 1880) and to recognize it as a new species. For almost a century, the Lousewort lapsed into obscurity. In the mid 1970's, motivated by a proposed hydroelectric dam on the St. John River, biologists set out to look for new Lousewort populations. New Brunswick's first three Lousewort sites were identified in 1977 : one site by H. Hinds; one by G.M. Stirrett; and the other by F. Tribe. Two additional sites were found in 2002 as part of the upper St. John River Rare Plant Project (one by S. Blaney, the other by J.Goltz and M. Toner). Visit Furbish's Lousewort's Species at Risk webpage for further information
Photo Credits: 1 - S. Blaney | 2 - J. Simpson | 3 - J. Simpson | 4 - M. Young
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