Castilleja christii |
Castilleja brevilobata |
|
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Christ's Indian paintbrush, John Christ's paintbrush |
short-lobed paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 1.4–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 1–5 dm; from a branched, woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | several, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, glabrous or hairs spreading, short and long, ± stiff, sometimes stipitate-glandular especially distally. |
solitary or few, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, short, medium, and long, soft, short and medium ones short stipitate-glandular. |
Leaves | green, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, (1–)2–5(–6) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, (0–)3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to rounded; lobes erect or ascending, linear, lanceolate, or triangular, sometimes very small, apex acute to rounded. |
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. |
Inflorescences | 3–6 × 2–4 cm; bracts proximally greenish, distally pale orange or pale yellow, sometimes red-orange, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to ovate, sometimes obovate, 3–5-lobed; lobes ascending, linear, medium length to long, arising at or below mid length, apex acute to obtuse. |
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. |
Corollas | straight, 20–30 mm; tube 12–19 mm; beak exserted, adaxially green, 7–12 mm; abaxial lip green, reduced, included or visible through cleft, 1.5–2 mm, 10–20% as long as beak; teeth incurved, deep green, 1.5 mm. |
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. |
Calyces | colored as bracts, 17–22(–24) mm; abaxial clefts 9–12(–13) mm, adaxial 7–11 mm, clefts 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–6.5(–8.5) mm, 20–50% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse. |
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. |
2n | = 24. |
|
Castilleja christii |
Castilleja brevilobata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Jul. | Flowering Mar–Aug. |
Habitat | Gentle slopes, mostly northern aspect, in herbaceous or grassy subalpine to alpine meadows, sagebrush openings and swales, snowbank communities, over quartzite. | Dry savannas, rocky slopes and open conifer forests, on serpentine. |
Elevation | 2100–2900 m. (6900–9500 ft.) | 200–1700 m. (700–5600 ft.) |
Distribution |
ID
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CA; OR
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Discussion | Castilleja christii is endemic to subalpine meadows near the summit of Mt. Harrison in the Albion Mountains, Cassia County. Morphologically, it most closely resembles the widespread C. hispida var. acuta, but a recent molecular study (D. L. Clay et al. 2012) presents clear evidence for a homoploid hybrid origin for the species, incorporating portions of the genomes of C. linariifolia and C. miniata. This is the first documented case of homoploid origin in Castilleja. Castilleja christii is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 595. | FNA vol. 17, p. 591. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. hispida subsp. brevilobata | |
Name authority | N. H. Holmgren: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 100: 91, fig. 5. (1973) | Piper: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 33: 104. (1920) |
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