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California paintbrush, coast Indian paintbrush, coast paintbrush, Indian paintbrush

Kaibab paintbrush, Kaibab Plateau Indian paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–6 dm; caudex woody; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, 1.5–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
Stems

few to many, erect to ascending, unbranched or branched at proximal nodes, sometimes with short, leafy axillary branches, hairs sparse to dense, spreading, short and long, soft to stiff, unbranched, sometimes branched, eglandular, sometimes stipitate-glandular.

solitary or few, sometimes several, erect or ascending, unbranched, rarely branched from base or from proximal inflorescence nodes, hairs spreading or reflexed, medium length, ± stiff, distally mixed with scattered, very short stipitate-glandular ones in inflorescences.

Leaves

green or purplish, sometimes red-brown, linear or linear-oblong to broadly lanceolate, 2–13 cm, not or ± fleshy, margins wavy or plane, flat or involute, 0–5-lobed, sometimes with small secondary lobes, short, leafy axillary shoots common, usually conspicuous, apex acuminate or acute to rounded;

lobes spreading, linear to lanceolate, lateral lobes almost as wide as mid blade, apex acute to rounded.

green, often with a dull red-purplish cast, linear to narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblong, (0.8–)1.5–4 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;

lobes spreading-ascending, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.

Inflorescences

3–25(–30) × 1.5–5 cm;

bracts proximally green or deep purple, distally red, crimson, scarlet, pink, pinkish purple, pinkish red, or yellow, sometimes rose magenta, red-orange, or orange, oblanceolate or obovate to oblong or lanceolate, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes spreading to ascending, linear to obovate, long, proximal lobes at or arising below mid length, apices acute to obtuse, center lobe sometimes rounded.

2–6.5(–9) × 1.5–3.5 cm;

bracts yellow, pale orange, salmon, pink, dull brick red, or reddish orange throughout, rarely red, or proximally pale greenish, distally colored as above, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, 0–3(–7)-lobed;

lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, short to medium length, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse, lateral ones obtuse to acute.

Pedicels

0 mm or nearly so.

Corollas

straight or ± curved, 17–40 mm;

tube 10–15 mm;

beak long-exserted to subequal to calyx, adaxially green, 7–20 mm, puberulent, eglandular;

abaxial lip deep green to reddish, brown, or deep purple, reduced, inconspicuous, included in calyx, 1.5–3 mm, 15–25% as long as beak;

teeth ascending, green, 0.5–2 mm.

straight or slightly curved, 21–30(–35) mm;

tube 13–19 mm;

beak subequal to calyx or exserted, adaxially green, 8–14 mm;

abaxial lip whitish to pink with deep green teeth, reduced, not exserted, sometimes visible through front calyx cleft, 0.5–2 mm, 5–15% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, dark green, 0.2–1 mm.

Calyces

proximally pale or green, distally as in distal portion of bracts, 14–35 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–22 mm, 33–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–7 mm, 15–25% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate or oblong, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, sometimes curved upward.

colored as bracts, 20–27(–30) mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6.5–13(–18) mm, 40–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (2–)4–7.5(–10) mm, 25% of calyx length;

lobes linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex rounded to acute.

2n

= 48, 72, 96.

= 24.

Castilleja affinis

Castilleja kaibabensis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Dry or exposed sites in subalpine meadows, low ridges and crests, openings in spruce-fir-aspen forests, fine silts and clay over limestone.
Elevation 2400–2800 m. (7900–9200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Castilleja affinis is highly variable and one of the more common paintbrushes at lower elevations in California, west of the Sierra Nevada, from the northern coast south to northern Baja California. Some recent authors (for example, M. Wetherwax et al. 2012) include C. litoralis of the Pacific Northwest coast as a subspecies of C. affinis, but due to the high polyploid nature of C. litoralis and its significantly closer morphological resemblance to C. miniata var. dixonii, that treatment is not followed here. Also see the comments under 62. C. litoralis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Castilleja kaibabensis is endemic to a few large meadow systems on the Kaibab Plateau, north of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Coconino County. Recreational activity, grazing, and road construction remain concerns for the management of this species.

Castilleja kaibabensis is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Stem hairs branched; distal portion of bracts usually pink to pinkish purple or pinkish red; coastal San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
var. contentiosa
1. Stem hairs unbranched, rarely branched; distal portion of bracts usually bright red, red-orange, crimson, scarlet, or yellow; more widespread in w California.
→ 2
2. Distal portions of bracts bright red to red-orange, crimson, or scarlet, rarely yellow, orange, rose, magenta, or pinkish red; inflorescences (2.5–)3–5 cm wide; chaparral slopes, openings, open woods, coastal scrub, stabilized dunes; much of w California.
var. affinis
2. Distal portions of bracts yellow, rarely pink or pale red-orange, often becoming reddish tinted after anthesis; inflorescences 1.5–2.5 cm wide; serpentine substrates; San Francisco Bay region.
var. neglecta
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 582. FNA vol. 17, p. 616.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Castilleja Orobanchaceae > Castilleja
Sibling taxa
C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, C. attenuata, C. brevilobata, C. brevistyla, C. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, C. chromosa, C. chrymactis, C. chrysantha, C. cinerea, C. citrina, C. coccinea, C. collegiorum, C. covilleana, C. crista-galli, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. densiflora, C. dissitiflora, C. disticha, C. elata, C. elegans, C. elmeri, C. exserta, C. flava, C. foliolosa, C. fraterna, C. genevieveana, C. glandulifera, C. gleasoni, C. gracillima, C. grisea, C. haydenii, C. hispida, C. hololeuca, C. hyperborea, C. indivisa, C. integra, C. kaibabensis, C. kerryana, C. kraliana, C. lacera, C. lanata, C. lasiorhyncha, C. lassenensis, C. latifolia, C. lemmonii, C. leschkeana, C. levisecta, C. linariifolia, C. lindheimeri, C. lineariloba, C. lineata, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. martini, C. mendocinensis, C. mexicana, C. miniata, C. minor, C. mogollonica, C. mollis, C. montigena, C. nana, C. nelsonii, C. nervata, C. nivea, C. occidentalis, C. oresbia, C. organorum, C. ornata, C. pallescens, C. pallida, C. parviflora, C. parvula, C. patriotica, C. peckiana, C. peirsonii, C. pilosa, C. plagiotoma, C. praeterita, C. pruinosa, C. puberula, C. pulchella, C. purpurascens, C. purpurea, C. raupii, C. revealii, C. rhexiifolia, C. rigida, C. rubicundula, C. rubida, C. rupicola, C. salsuginosa, C. scabrida, C. schizotricha, C. septentrionalis, C. sessiliflora, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuiflora, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. tomentosa, C. uliginosa, C. unalaschcensis, C. victoriae, C. viscidula, C. wightii, C. wootonii, C. xanthotricha
C. affinis, C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, C. attenuata, C. brevilobata, C. brevistyla, C. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, C. chromosa, C. chrymactis, C. chrysantha, C. cinerea, C. citrina, C. coccinea, C. collegiorum, C. covilleana, C. crista-galli, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. densiflora, C. dissitiflora, C. disticha, C. elata, C. elegans, C. elmeri, C. exserta, C. flava, C. foliolosa, C. fraterna, C. genevieveana, C. glandulifera, C. gleasoni, C. gracillima, C. grisea, C. haydenii, C. hispida, C. hololeuca, C. hyperborea, C. indivisa, C. integra, C. kerryana, C. kraliana, C. lacera, C. lanata, C. lasiorhyncha, C. lassenensis, C. latifolia, C. lemmonii, C. leschkeana, C. levisecta, C. linariifolia, C. lindheimeri, C. lineariloba, C. lineata, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. martini, C. mendocinensis, C. mexicana, C. miniata, C. minor, C. mogollonica, C. mollis, C. montigena, C. nana, C. nelsonii, C. nervata, C. nivea, C. occidentalis, C. oresbia, C. organorum, C. ornata, C. pallescens, C. pallida, C. parviflora, C. parvula, C. patriotica, C. peckiana, C. peirsonii, C. pilosa, C. plagiotoma, C. praeterita, C. pruinosa, C. puberula, C. pulchella, C. purpurascens, C. purpurea, C. raupii, C. revealii, C. rhexiifolia, C. rigida, C. rubicundula, C. rubida, C. rupicola, C. salsuginosa, C. scabrida, C. schizotricha, C. septentrionalis, C. sessiliflora, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuiflora, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. tomentosa, C. uliginosa, C. unalaschcensis, C. victoriae, C. viscidula, C. wightii, C. wootonii, C. xanthotricha
Subordinate taxa
C. affinis var. affinis, C. affinis var. contentiosa, C. affinis var. neglecta
Name authority Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 154. (1833) N. H. Holmgren: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 100: 89, fig. 4. (1973)
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