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Castilleja angustifolia

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

castilleja exserta, escobita, exserted Indian paintbrush, owl's clover, purple owl's-clover, purple painted-cup

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.9–3.8(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual, 0.1–4.5 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.

solitary, erect to ascending, unbranched or diffusely branched from near base, hairs spreading, medium length and long, stiff, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

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, sometimes purple to brownish, linear or ovate to orbicular in outline, (0.8–)1–5(–7.7) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, (0–)3–9(–11)-lobed, sometimes with secondary lobing, apex acuminate to rounded or acute;

lobes spreading, filiform or linear to narrowly spatulate, apex acute to acuminate or rounded.

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.

1.5–20 × 2–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, dark purple, brownish purple, or white, distally pink, lavender, magenta, light purple, or white on lobe apices, lanceolate to elliptic or narrowly ovate, (3–)5(–9)-lobed, often with 2–4 secondary lobes;

lobes ascending to spreading, linear to filiform or narrowly spatulate, medium length to long, arising below or above mid length, apex rounded to acute.

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, 12–33 mm;

tube 7–20 mm;

beak slightly exserted, hooked near apex, adaxially pink-purple to magenta, rarely white, 5–13 mm, margins colored as bracts, densely villous-hairy;

abaxial lip proximally pink, purple, or magenta, rarely yellow or white, with maroon or deep purple distal to that and white to yellow or pink distally, often with purple spots, distal pale color often aging deep pink or deep red, strongly inflated, pouches 3, 3–8 mm wide, 3–4 mm deep, 3–9 mm, 67–80% as long as beak;

teeth erect, white, yellow, or purple, often with purple or maroon spots, 0.5–2 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.

colored as bracts, 10–26 mm;

abaxial clefts 4–12 mm, adaxial 9–18 mm, abaxial ca. 50% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 67% of calyx length, at least adaxial deeper than others, lateral 2.5–9 mm, 15–45% of calyx length;

lobes linear (to narrowly oblanceolate), apex rounded to acute.

Filaments

with spreading, long, soft hairs.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja angustifolia

Castilleja exserta

Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; nw Mexico
[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 3 (3 in the flora).

In addition to the characters in the key, Castilleja exserta is distinguished from the similar C. densiflora by its conspicuously hairy and apically hooked beak. As a result, the capitate stigma is exserted more or less horizontally from the corolla beak. In contrast, C. densiflora has an unhooked, inconspicuously puberulent beak, from which the stigma emerges more vertically. Castilleja exserta hybridizes with C. attenuata in southern California and with C. lineariloba in central California, and it reportedly crosses occasionally with C. densiflora in southern California.

(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. Abaxial lips of corollas deep red-purple proximally, with distal 1/4 bright yellow to yellow-orange, becoming orange or red after anthesis; w Mojave Desert, California.
var. venusta
1. Abaxial lips of corollas variably colored, proximally pink to deep red-purple or white, with distal 1/4–1/3 white, yellow, or yellow-orange; widespread in Arizona and California, rare in New Mexico or limited to the coastal regions of California.
→ 2
2. Bracts usually less than 5 mm wide, lobes filiform to linear; inland and near-coastal grasslands and meadows; Arizona, w California, sw New Mexico.
var. exserta
2. Bracts 5–7 mm wide, lobes linear to narrowly spatulate; coastal dunes and bluffs; California.
var. latifolia
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 586. FNA vol. 17, p. 606.
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. 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. 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. exserta var. exserta, C. exserta var. latifolia, C. exserta var. venusta
Synonyms Euchroma angustifolia Orthocarpus exsertus
Name authority (Nuttall) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 4: 616. 1837/1838 (A. Heller) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. 16: 657. (1991)
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