Burke: Castilleja miniata vs. Castilleja attenuata

	Castilleja miniata	Castilleja attenuata
	common paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush	attenuate paintbrush, valley-tassels
Habit	Perennial herb to 80 cm tall; stems in small clusters, often branched above.	Slender annual 1-3.5 dm. tall, the stem usually simple, the herbage with short, stiff spreading hairs throughout.
Leaves	Simple, narrow with pointed tip; inflorescence leaves and bracts bright red, sometimes with a few small lobes.	Leaves alternate, all cauline, narrowly lance-linear, long-tapered to the base, 2-6 cm. long, entire or the upper 3-cleft.
Flowers	Inconspicuous, greenish, tubular flowers, surrounded by a much showier bright red calyx and inflorescence bracts.	Inflorescence elongate and narrow, the bracts becoming shorter and more cleft than the leaves, white or yellowish; calyx equally lobed; corolla 1-2.5 cm. long, linear, whitish to pinkish, the lower lip more yellowish with some purple spots; teeth of the lower lip erect, slender, nearly equaling the galea
Fruits	2-celled capsules with many seeds.	Capsule.
Comments	Our most common Castilleja in the mountians.

	Castilleja miniata	Castilleja attenuata
Identification notes	A few traits to look for include the narrow unlobed leaves; bright red inflorescence; sharply pointed calyx lobes, and greenish flowers much longer than calyx. Castilleja is a difficult genus; consult technical keys.
Flowering time	May-September	April-June
Habitat	Mountain meadows and slopes; also on coastal bluffs; widespread and common.	Drier areas at low elevations.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes region. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California and Arizona. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. ambigua, C. attenuata, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. elmeri, C. exserta, C. hispida, C. levisecta, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. minor, C. parviflora, C. rupicola, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. victoriae	C. ambigua, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. elmeri, C. exserta, C. hispida, C. levisecta, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. miniata, C. minor, C. parviflora, C. rupicola, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. victoriae
Subordinate taxa	C. miniata var. dixonii, C. miniata var. miniata
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Castilleja attenuata

common paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush

attenuate paintbrush, valley-tassels

Habit

Perennial herb to 80 cm tall; stems in small clusters, often branched above.

Slender annual 1-3.5 dm. tall, the stem usually simple, the herbage with short, stiff spreading hairs throughout.

Leaves

Simple, narrow with pointed tip;

inflorescence leaves and bracts bright red, sometimes with a few small lobes.

Leaves alternate, all cauline, narrowly lance-linear, long-tapered to the base, 2-6 cm. long, entire or the upper 3-cleft.

Flowers

Inconspicuous, greenish, tubular flowers, surrounded by a much showier bright red calyx and inflorescence bracts.

Inflorescence elongate and narrow, the bracts becoming shorter and more cleft than the leaves, white or yellowish;

calyx equally lobed;

corolla 1-2.5 cm. long, linear, whitish to pinkish, the lower lip more yellowish with some purple spots;

teeth of the lower lip erect, slender, nearly equaling the galea

Fruits

2-celled capsules with many seeds.

Capsule.

Comments

Our most common Castilleja in the mountians.

A few traits to look for include the narrow unlobed leaves; bright red inflorescence; sharply pointed calyx lobes, and greenish flowers much longer than calyx. Castilleja is a difficult genus; consult technical keys.

Flowering time

May-September

April-June

Habitat

Mountain meadows and slopes; also on coastal bluffs; widespread and common.

Drier areas at low elevations.

Distribution