Pedicularis is a lineage of approximately 700 species of hemiparasitic angiosperms that has radiated extensively in the eastern Himalayan biodiversity "hot spot" of south-central China. This group displays substantial variation in floral morphology: corollas can be beaked, crested, toothed, and/or long-tubed. New molecular phylogenies of Himalayan Pedicularis resolve a long-standing source of conflict in systematic treatments regarding the use of floral versus vegetative characters in identifying primary subgeneric lineages, corroborate existing hypotheses about patterns of character evolution in the corolla, and raise intriguing questions about the role of pollinators in mediating the origin and maintenance of diversity in this group.

Key words: China, Himalaya, homoplasy, Pedicularis, phylogeny