Wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis)- not a woodland plant at all

Wood betony scattered through a wet mesic to mesic prairie in
early spring. North Branch of the Chicago River, Spring 2016

This early spring prairie and savanna native dots the landscape in areas mostly dry later in the season but ones that can be inundated with spring rains this time of the year.

closer look at the plant with the upper
and lower parts of the flower visible 

The plant is quite unusual, with light yellow flowers that have a top hood with 2 downward pointed teeth and a three bottom lips fused together to look like one. The bottom part of the flower acts as a landing pad for insects while the hood protects the pollen. Wood betony's leaves are deeply lobed and fuzzy (with fine little hairs - which is can be called pubescent in botanic language or at times even canescent - when short and fine hair produce a whitish appearance ). Some people think it reminds them of ferns, however the leaves have a different texture and obviously no spores underneath.

Wood betony is mostly semi-parasitic, meaning that it taps into the nutrients of other plants, preferably grasses, for some of its nutrients. Some believe that is the reason for the plant's cream-yellow color. As a result the grasses around wood betony are slightly stunted. People have found that under some conditions the plant can sustain itself without finding a hoast. For this reason when growing this plant from seed make sure you seed it into containers which already have a lot of 2nd or 3rd season grass growing (little bluestem is a good choice).