Curtis Botanical – Plate 7132 – Large-flowered Lousewort

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 7132.

Plant: Pedicularis Megalantha (Large-flowered Lousewort). Native to: Himalaya / Central Asia (alpine).

Despite its name (once believed to give sheep lice), this is a spectacular high-altitude plant with large helmet-shaped flowers. Semi-parasitic on alpine grasses — cannot be cultivated or transplanted. Exists only in the wild.

Printed in London. Each print is an original page removed from a bound volume of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the world's oldest continuously published botanical journal (founded 1787). Uncolored plate. Sold individually. Minor age-related toning consistent with 19th-century paper.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.