Castilleja christii |
Castilleja lassenensis |
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Christ's Indian paintbrush, John Christ's paintbrush |
Lassen paintbrush, Mt. Lassen paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 1.4–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.8–2.1 dm; from a woody caudex; with slender, branching roots. |
Stems | several, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, glabrous or hairs spreading, short and long, ± stiff, sometimes stipitate-glandular especially distally. |
few to many, decumbent-based to erect, unbranched except for short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs sparse, spreading, long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones. |
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 to purple (sometimes different on stems of same plant), linear-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acute; lobes spreading-ascending, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, apex 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. |
2–4.5 × 1.5–2 cm; bracts proximally greenish to dull brownish purple, distally pink to magenta or reddish purple, ovate, broadly lanceolate, or oblong, (0–)3–5-lobed; lobes ascending to erect, lanceolate, medium length, arising near or above mid length, apex acute to 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, 18–20 mm; tube 14–15 mm; abaxial lip sometimes partly exserted, beak usually exserted; beak adaxially white, 7–10 mm, margins white or pale salmon; abaxial lip pale green to yellow-green, inflated, pouches 3, shallow, central pouch shallowly grooved, visible through front cleft, 6–7 mm, 60–70% as long as beak; teeth erect, white, 1–2 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. |
proximally brown or dull magenta, sometimes green, distally colored as bracts, 11–19 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 9–10 mm, 55–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2.5–5 mm, 15–25% of calyx length; lobes oblong, apex rounded. |
Stigmas | pale green. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Castilleja christii |
Castilleja lassenensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Jul. | Flowering Jul–Sep. |
Habitat | Gentle slopes, mostly northern aspect, in herbaceous or grassy subalpine to alpine meadows, sagebrush openings and swales, snowbank communities, over quartzite. | Moist to wet meadows, shorelines, subalpine, volcanic soils. |
Elevation | 2100–2900 m. (6900–9500 ft.) | 1500–2500 m. (4900–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
ID
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CA |
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 lassenensis is restricted to the Mt. Lassen area in Shasta and Tehama counties. See the discussion of 55. C. lemmonii for information on the relationship between these two species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 595. | FNA vol. 17, p. 619. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | N. H. Holmgren: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 100: 91, fig. 5. (1973) | Eastwood: Leafl. W. Bot. 2: 244. (1940) |
Web links |