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field owl's-clover, meadow paintbrush, vernal pool Indian paintbrush, yellow owl's clover

Mexican Indian paintbrush, Mexican paintbrush

Habit Herbs, annual, (0.3–)0.9–3 dm; with fibrous roots. Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, 0.6–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a slender taproot.
Stems

solitary or few, erect, unbranched, sometimes branched, glabrous or hairs sparse proximally, spreading, long, soft distally.

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

green, sometimes purple-tinged, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (0.4–)1–4 cm, not fleshy, thin and flexible or thick and ± brittle, margins plane, involute, 0-lobed, apex acuminate.

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

2–15 × 2–3 cm;

bracts green throughout, sometimes purplish tinged, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0-lobed, apex acute.

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, 11–26 mm;

tube 10–22 mm;

abaxial lip, beak, and part of tube exserted from calyx;

beak adaxially white or yellow, 3–6 mm;

abaxial lip yellow, sometimes orange, paler near teeth, prominent, deeply saccate with 3 lobes at ca. 90° from one another, pouches 6–10 mm wide, 3–4 mm deep, abruptly widening from tube, sacs ± round or ± rounded-triangular from above, villous within at base of teeth, 4–5 mm (2–4 mm from sinus), 70–90% as long as beak, puberulent;

teeth erect, white, sometimes with deeply colored bases, 0.5–2 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, pale, or purplish, distally purple or green, 5.5–11 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 2–5 mm, 30–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–2.5 mm, 25–30% of calyx length;

lobes linear-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate.

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.

= 24.

Castilleja campestris

Castilleja mexicana

Phenology Flowering Feb–Oct.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, grasslands, pinyon-juniper stands.
Elevation 1200–2100 m. (3900–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[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 2 (2 in the flora).

Castilleja campestris is sometimes confused with Triphysaria eriantha subsp. eriantha, but C. campestris has two-celled anthers and entire leaves, while T. eriantha has one pollen sac per stamen and strongly divided leaves.

(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. Leaves and bracts linear; leaves thin, flexible; bracts shorter than or ± equal to flowers; corollas light to bright yellow; proximal pollen sacs to 1/3 length of distal.
var. campestris
1. Leaves and bracts lanceolate; leaves thick, ± brittle; bracts longer than flowers; corollas usually yellow to orange; proximal pollen sacs ca. 1/2 length of distal.
var. succulenta
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 592. FNA vol. 17, p. 626.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Castilleja Orobanchaceae > Castilleja
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, C. attenuata, C. brevilobata, C. brevistyla, 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. campestris var. campestris, C. campestris var. succulenta
Synonyms Orthocarpus campestris Orthocarpus mexicanus, C. tortifolia
Name authority (Bentham) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. 16: 656. (1991) (Hemsley) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 404. (1886) — (as Castilleia)
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