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Thompson's paintbrush

Habit Perennial herb; stems clustered, erect to ascending, 1-4 dm tall, hairy, often tinged with maroon.
Leaves

Lower leaves simple, linear; upper leaves narrow with 3-5 linear lobes; lightly hairy. Inflorescence leaves (bracts) yellowish-tinged.

Flowers

Calyx 12-25 mm long, maroonish in color, with 4 acute lobes at tip, cleft more deeply above and below than on sides. Corolla incospicuous, greenish, hidden within the more showy calyx, the galea (upper beak) short, the lower lip greater than 1/2 length of galea, scarcely pouched. Ovary superior, 2-celled.

Fruits

Many-seeded capsules.

Comments

Plants found at higher elevations tend to be smaller, less pubescent and more glandular.

Castilleja thompsonii

Orobanchaceae

Identification notes Can be sufficiently separated from other Castilleja species in Washington by the combination of perennial habit, yellowish inflorescences, acute calyx tips with median clefts deeper than the lateral clefts, greenish corolla enclosed by the calyx (or nearly so), and close association with sagebrush. See also Castilleja cervina.
Flowering time May-September
Habitat Dry sagebrush deserts to high mountain ridges.
Distribution
East of the Cascade summits in Washington; British Columbia south to Oregon.
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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. miniata, C. minor, C. parviflora, C. rupicola, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuis, C. victoriae
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