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

coast paintbrush, Oregon coast paintbrush, Pacific paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–6 dm; caudex woody; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, 1–9 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.

few to many, usually decumbent proximally, becoming ascending-erect, sometimes ascending, branched, sometimes with small, leafy axillary shoots, glabrate or ± pubescent distally, hairs sparse to moderately dense, spreading to ± appressed, short, soft, sometimes mixed with short-glandular ones below inflorescence.

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, lanceolate to oblong or narrowly ovate, (0.5–)3–8 cm, sometimes thickened, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acute to rounded;

lobes ascending or spreading, linear, narrowly lanceolate to oblong or triangular, short, apex acute to obtuse.

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.

2.5–21 × 3–5 cm;

bracts proximally green, distally bright red to crimson or orange-red, sometimes orange or pale yellow-orange, oblong to narrowly ovate or narrowly obovate, (0–)3–5-lobed, sometimes with a pair of small teeth;

lobes ascending, linear to oblong, medium length, arising in middle 1/3, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded or truncate, lateral ones ± acute.

Pedicels

0 mm or nearly so.

0–6 mm.

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, 23–38(–40) mm;

tube 10–20 mm;

abaxial lip often visible through front cleft, very rarely almost exserted, beak exserted;

beak adaxially green or yellowish, 10–16 mm, surface inconspicuously puberulent;

abaxial lip ascending, green, reduced, 1–2.5 mm, 10–20% as long as beak;

teeth erect or incurved, green or white, 1–2 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, 17–25(–30) mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts (5–)7–15(–18) mm, 33–55% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–3(–5) mm, 5–10% of calyx length;

lobes broadly triangular to oblong, apex obtuse to acute or rounded.

2n

= 48, 72, 96.

= 120, 144.

Castilleja affinis

Castilleja litoralis

Phenology Flowering (Apr–)May–Aug(–Sep).
Habitat Steep rocky slopes, headlands, ledges, sea cliffs, coastal scrub, dune swales, roadcuts.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[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 litoralis never ranges more than one to two kilometers from the sea, from Humboldt County, California, north to Pacific County, Washington, near the mouth of the Columbia River. It is a high polyploid complex, possibly incorporating the genomes of several species, including C. affinis, C. miniata, and possibly C. hispida. The coastal C. miniata var. dixonii is very similar ecologically and morphologically but replaces C. litoralis from southwestern Washington to southern British Columbia. Compared to C. litoralis, C. miniata var. dixonii usually has somewhat longer corollas and corolla beaks, the latter with a more conspicuously puberulent surface and deeper lateral calyx clefts. Castilleja litoralis has been included as a subspecies of C. affinis by some (for example, M. Wetherwax et al. 2012), but the morphological resemblance to that species is far more tenuous than it is to C. miniata var. dixonii. Considering their very similar morphologies, along with the fact that both C. litoralis (2n = 120, 144) and C. miniata var. dixonii (2n = 96, 144) apparently combine multiple genomes, strongly suggest that they would best be treated as a single entity. Should they be combined at the species level following additional research, the name C. dixonii has priority.

Castilleja litoralis is often associated with salal, Gaultheria shallon, on which it is likely parasitic.

(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. 624.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms C. affinis subsp. litoralis, C. wightii subsp. litoralis
Name authority Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 154. (1833) Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 99: 183. (1947)
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