Castilleja brevilobata |
Castilleja elmeri |
|
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short-lobed paintbrush |
Elmer's Indian paintbrush, Elmer's paintbrush, Wenatchee Indian paintbrush, Wenatchee paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 1–5 dm; from a branched, woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 1.1–4.2 dm; from a many-headed, woody caudex; with a stout taproot. |
Stems | solitary or few, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, short, medium, and long, soft, short and medium ones short stipitate-glandular. |
solitary or few to many, erect to ascending, sometimes slightly curved at base, unbranched, rarely branched, hairs moderately dense, spreading, medium length, soft, mixed with shorter eglandular and stipitate-glandular ones, at least on distal 1/2 of stem. |
Leaves | green or ± yellow, lanceolate, elliptic, or oblong to narrowly ovate, 1–2(–2.5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane or wavy, involute, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, apex rounded to acute; lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, apex rounded to acute. |
green, rarely purple-tinged, linear-lanceolate, sometimes linear or lanceolate, 1.3–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, entire, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | 3–20 × 2–3.5 cm; bracts proximally greenish to dull brown, distally red, orange-red, or scarlet, sometimes orange or yellow, broadly lanceolate or oblong, (0–)3–5-lobed; lobes ascending, broadly to narrowly lanceolate, short, arising above mid length, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded. |
2.5–9 × 1.5–3 cm; bracts red, crimson, scarlet, pink, magenta, red-orange, burnt orange, orange, pale yellow, or whitish throughout, or proximally greenish, distally as stated above, oblong, narrowly obovate, elliptic-oblong, or narrowly ovate, 0(–5)-lobed, rarely with 1 or 2 pairs of short, usually distal lobes; lobes ascending, lanceolate, very short, arising from distal edge, apex rounded to obtuse. |
Pedicels | 0 mm. |
|
Corollas | straight, 15–24(–26) mm; tube 12–16 mm; beak exserted, abaxial lip equal to calyx; beak adaxially green or ± yellow-green, 7–10 mm, puberulent, stipitate-glandular; abaxial lip deep green, reduced, rounded, 1–2 mm, 10–25% as long as beak; teeth incurved to erect, light green, 0.5–1 mm. |
straight, 20–33 mm; tubes 13–18 mm; beak, and sometimes abaxial lip, partially to fully exserted; beak adaxially green to yellowish, 8–15 mm; abaxial lip incurved, green, thickened, 2–3 mm, 20–33% as long as beak; teeth ascending or incurved, green, 0.5–1 mm. |
Calyces | green or whitish with green veins, lobes colored as bract lobes or paler, 14–30 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 5.5–8.5 mm, 30–40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–4 mm, 20–25% of calyx length; lobes oblong to narrowly triangular, apex obtuse to rounded. |
proximally green to pale green, distally colored as bracts, 15–25 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–14 mm, 33–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–4 mm, 6–20% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex rounded to obtuse. |
2n | = 24. |
= 48. |
Castilleja brevilobata |
Castilleja elmeri |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Aug. | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry savannas, rocky slopes and open conifer forests, on serpentine. | Moist to dry rocky slopes, meadows, swales, sagebrush steppes, open conifer forests, montane to subalpine, often on serpentine. |
Elevation | 200–1700 m. [700–5600 ft.] | 600–2600 m. [2000–8500 ft.] |
Distribution |
CA; OR
|
WA; BC
|
Discussion | Castilleja brevilobata is endemic to dry serpentine openings in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon and adjacent California. Although sometimes treated as part of C. applegatei or C. hispida, its morphology does not suggest a close connection with either. This species occasionally hybridizes with C. pruinosa in Del Norte County, California. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The bracts and inflorescences of Castilleja elmeri can be red, crimson, scarlet, pink, magenta, red-orange, burnt orange, orange, pale yellow, or whitish. While the coloration is highly variable between local populations, it is usually uniform and consistent within them. It is found primarily in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington, where it is often on serpentine, but it ranges northward in the Cascades into extreme southern British Columbia, apparently on non-serpentine substrates. Hybrids with C. miniata var. miniata, C. parviflora var. albida, and C. thompsonii have been found in the eastern Cascades of Washington, and a similar hybrid swarm with C. thompsonii is reported from southern British Columbia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 591. | FNA vol. 17, p. 605. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. hispida subsp. brevilobata | |
Name authority | Piper: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 33: 104. (1920) | Fernald: Erythea 6: 51. (1898) — (as Castilleia) |
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