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Castilleja angustifolia

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

Mexican Indian paintbrush, Mexican paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.9–3.8(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, 0.6–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a slender taproot.
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 or few, erect to erect-ascending, sometimes slightly curved at base, branched at base or unbranched, hairs spreading, long, stiff to soft, mixed with shorter 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.

brown or purplish, sometimes green, linear to narrowly oblong, 1–5 cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, mostly involute, to flat, 3–5-lobed, apex acute;

lobes spreading, linear, apex acute to 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.

2–17 × 1.5–6.5 cm;

bracts greenish throughout, narrowly lanceolate (ovate in outline), 3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes spreading, linear to narrowly oblong, long, arising from 1/3–2/3 blade length, wavy-margined, apex rounded or obtuse 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 proximally, conspicuously decurved distally, 35–60 mm;

tube 26–46 mm;

abaxial lip, beak, and majority of tube exserted;

beak yellow to yellowish green, sometimes purplish tipped or drying pinkish, 9–15 mm;

abaxial lip light yellow to whitish, prominent, not inflated, 4–8 mm, 50–75% as long as beak;

teeth spreading-ascending, yellowish, 3–6 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.

proximally brownish green, purplish, or green, lobes tipped with same color as bracts, 18–28 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–14 mm, 33–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–6 mm, 8–20% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate to narrowly triangular, abaxials wider than adaxials, apex acute.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja angustifolia

Castilleja mexicana

Phenology Flowering Feb–Oct.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, grasslands, pinyon-juniper stands.
Elevation 1200–2100 m. (3900–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas)
[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.)

Castilleja mexicana occurs in the northern third of Mexico and reaches the flora area only in southwestern Texas. Its conspicuous corollas can be either yellow or, less commonly, white. In both cases, the flowers turn soft pink-purple with age. Texas populations of this species are yellow flowered, and the white-flowered morph appears to occur only in northeastern Mexico. There is some indication of additional morphological differences between these color morphs that may justify varietal segregation. Castilleja mexicana is sometimes confused with the closely related C. sessiliflora, due to their conspicuous, distally curved, usually strongly exserted corollas, but the two species remain distinct.

(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
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 586. FNA vol. 17, p. 626.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms Euchroma angustifolia Orthocarpus mexicanus, C. tortifolia
Name authority (Nuttall) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 4: 616. 1837/1838 (Hemsley) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 404. (1886) — (as Castilleia)
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