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Castilleja angustifolia

narrow-leaf paintbrush, northwestern Indian paintbrush, northwestern paintbrush, violet desert paintbrush

estuarine paintbrush, johnny-nip, owl-clover paintbrush, paint-brush owl-clover, paintbrush, paintbrush owl's-clover

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.9–3.8(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual, sometimes biennial, 0.6–3.5 dm; with fibrous roots.
Stems

few to many, ascending to erect, branched, especially near base, sometimes unbranched, hairs sparse to dense, spreading to retrorse, long, sometimes short, soft to stiff, usually mixed with short-glandular ones, sometimes viscid.

few to many, sometimes solitary (var. meadii), ascending or erect, often decumbent proximally, unbranched or branched above base, hairs sparse to moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, eglandular, mixed with short stipitate-glandular hairs.

Leaves

brown or purplish, sometimes green, linear to lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 1.2–7(–7.5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, involute or flat, (0–)3–5-lobed, rarely with secondary lobes, apex acuminate to rounded;

lobes spreading, oblong or lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, apex acute to rounded.

green or brownish in upland forms, linear-lanceolate to widely lanceolate, linear, elliptic, obovate, or oblong, rarely ovate or cup-shaped, (0.6–)0.8–5 cm, fleshy or not, margins plane, flat, 3–5(–7)-lobed, apex rounded to obtuse or acuminate, abaxial surface often stipitate-glandular, adaxial sometimes shiny, glabrous;

lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, apex acute or obtuse.

Inflorescences

2.5–20 × 1.5–5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish or dull purplish, distally pink, magenta, pink-purple, reddish pink, pale yellow, pale yellow-orange, pale orange, or white, rarely reddish or orange-red, lanceolate to oblong, 3–5(–9)-lobed, sometimes with secondary lobes;

lobes spreading or ascending, oblanceolate or linear, proximal lobes often much longer than distal, proximal lobes arising below or a little above mid length, apex acute to rounded.

1.5–9(–13) × 1–4 cm;

bracts proximally green, rarely brownish purple, distally white, cream, pink, or purple on apices, lanceolate, oblong, or ovate, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes ascending or divaricate-ascending, oblong to linear, short to long, arising below or above mid length, central lobe apex usually rounded to truncate, others acute to obtuse.

Corollas

straight, 18–27(–32) mm;

tube 8–17 mm;

beak usually long-exserted, adaxially green or pink, 8–15 mm;

abaxial lip deep green, reduced, inconspicuous, 1–2.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved to ascending, deep green, 0.5–1.5 mm.

straight, 14–24 mm;

tube 11–21 mm, expanded distally;

abaxial lip and beak usually exserted, beak straight or slightly curved, adaxially white, yellow, or pink, sometimes green or purplish, (1–)4–7 mm, sparsely to densely short-hairy;

abaxial lip pale to bright yellow, sometimes becoming pink, orange, or red after anthesis, with red-brown or purple spots at base of each tooth and sometimes at base of each pouch, conspicuous, pouches 3, ± prominent, divergent, saccate, 2–7 × 3–7 mm, (33–)60–75(–90)% as long as beak;

teeth erect, sometimes spreading, white, pink, purple, or green, often with whitish bases, 1–3 mm.

Calyces

proximally green, yellow, brown, or purple, lobes colored as bract lobes, sometimes with a yellow band between proximal and distal parts, 13–25(–28) mm;

abaxial clefts 3–8 mm, adaxial 5–9(–12) mm, clefts 30–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)1.5–4(–5) mm, 10–25% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate to oblong, abaxials wider than adaxials, apex acute to rounded.

green to pale yellowish green or tipped with white or purple, 8–23 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9 mm, 33–50(–67)% of calyx length, lateral 2–5.5 mm, 20–40% of calyx length;

lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to oblong or ± triangular, apex acuminate or narrowly acute to obtuse or rounded.

Filaments

glabrous.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja angustifolia

Castilleja ambigua

Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Much confusion exists concerning Castilleja angustifolia and the closely related C. chromosa. Sometimes C. chromosa is treated as a variety of C. angustifolia, using the name C. angustifolia var. dubia. The latter name is used here to represent a different assemblage of plants, not including C. chromosa. At other times, C. chromosa is synonymized completely under C. angustifolia. However, the two species are in most cases easily separable, and where they are sympatric there is little evidence of intergradation. Both C. angustifolia var. dubia and C. chromosa are accepted here. See additional comments under 3b. C. angustifolia var. dubia and 15. C. chromosa.

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

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

Castilleja ambigua is a complex species, treated here with four varieties, though many localized variations exist among populations, and these are still incompletely understood.

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

Key
1. Bracts distally usually pink to pink-purple; s Idaho, sw Montana, se Oregon, nw Wyoming.
var. angustifolia
1. Bracts distally yellow, yellow-orange, pale orange, white, pink, reddish pink, or magenta; se Idaho, e Nevada, sw South Dakota, w Utah, ec Wyoming.
→ 2
2. Bracts distally usually yellow to pale orange or white; ec Wyoming, adjacent sw South Dakota.
var. dubia
2. Bracts distally usually yellow, yellow-orange, white, pink, or reddish pink; se Idaho, e Nevada, w Utah.
var. flavescens
1. Bract lobes linear; stems erect; moist inland meadows and vernal pools on volcanic substrates; c Napa County, California.
var. meadii
1. Bract lobes linear to oblong; stems ± decumbent, at least proximally; coastal salt marshes, margins of brackish estuaries, coastal sandy bluffs, mesic to ± xeric inland grasslands; British Columbia to California.
→ 2
2. Bracts pink to purple distally; stems unbranched or few-branched from mid stem; salt marshes; Humboldt Bay region, nw California.
var. humboldtiensis
2. Bracts white distally, rarely pink or cream; stems often branched from base; salt marshes, sandy coastal bluffs, inland grasslands; British Columbia to California.
→ 3
3. Corolla beaks usually white or yellow, abaxial lips yellow; salt marshes, sandy coastal bluffs, inland grasslands; s British Columbia to c California.
var. ambigua
3. Corolla beaks usually pink to purplish, abaxial lips yellow, becoming white and then red or soft pink-purple; grassy coastal bluffs and adjacent sand dunes; vicinity of Monterey Bay, California.
var. insalutata
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 586. FNA vol. 17, p. 584.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Castilleja Orobanchaceae > Castilleja
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. ambigua, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. angustifolia var. angustifolia, C. angustifolia var. dubia, C. angustifolia var. flavescens
C. ambigua var. ambigua, C. ambigua var. humboldtiensis, C. ambigua var. insalutata, C. ambigua var. meadii
Synonyms Euchroma angustifolia
Name authority (Nuttall) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 4: 616. 1837/1838 Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 154. (1833)
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