Flower profile
Warrior's plume
Pedicularis densiflora
Warrior's plume (Pedicularis densiflora) is a flowering plant in the Orobanchaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly January–April across the U.S.
Warrior's plume is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. In California it's most often seen in bloom in January–April.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: California
Quick look
Pedicularis densiflora, known commonly as Indian warrior or warrior's-plume lousewort, is a plant in the family Orobanchaceae.
- It belongs to the Orobanchaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 2 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to California. NatureServe
- In California, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in January–April. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 16,792 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #37 among the 178 flowers on our California list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
In California, most flowering sightings come in January–April.
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G4 Apparently secure worldwide. NatureServe
- California
- Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in California. CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records warrior's plume in 2 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
California, Oregon.
California counties with USDA records: Alameda, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba.
Names, range and relatives
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 44 counties across 2 states; the most are in California (41), Oregon (3).
Other Pedicularis on Bloomipedia (8): Canadian lousewort, Elephant's-Head lousewort, Sickletop lousewort, Bracted lousewort, Dwarf lousewort, Whorled lousewort, Labrador lousewort, Woolly lousewort.
More from the Orobanchaceae family (24 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Texas paintbrush, Purple owl's-clover, Felt paintbrush, Giant red paintbrush, Narrowleaf cow wheat, Desert paintbrush, Wholeleaf paintbrush, Florida bluehearts.
More California flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile PEDE.
- iNaturalist, Pedicularis densiflora: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Pedicularis densiflora (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- California: California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026).
- California: California noxious weed species (3 CCR § 4500).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Pedicularis densiflora (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Henrik Kibak via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.