Castilleja christii |
Castilleja unalaschcensis |
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Christ's Indian paintbrush, John Christ's paintbrush |
Alaska Indian paintbrush, coastal paintbrush, unalaska paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 1.4–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 2–8 dm; from a short, stout, scaly, many-headed, woody caudex; with rhizomes or branching, woody 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, erect to ascending, unbranched or branched distally, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs sparse, spreading to erect, long, soft, eglandular, rarely 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, sometimes red-purplish, lanceolate-linear to lanceolate, elliptic-ovate, or ovate, (1.2–)3.5–10 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to slightly involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute; lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate. |
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. |
3.5–18 × 2–6.5 cm; bracts proximally green, distally yellow, pale yellow, whitish, yellow-green, or pale orange, often aging reddish or pink, lanceolate, elliptic, ovate, oblanceolate, or oblong to narrowly obovate, (0–)3–5-lobed; lobes ascending, linear to oblong, short, arising above mid length, apex acute to obtuse. |
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 or slightly curved, 18–28 mm; tube 16–19 mm; beak partially to completely exserted, abaxial lip not exserted; beak adaxially green, 6–13 mm; abaxial lip deep green, reduced, inconspicuous, 1–2 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak; teeth incurved, deep green or white, 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. |
colored as bracts, 15–28 mm; abaxial cleft 12–16 mm, adaxial 8–11.5 mm, clefts 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 4–10 mm, 20–35% of calyx length; lobes oblong to lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded. |
2n | = ca. 96. |
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Castilleja christii |
Castilleja unalaschcensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Jul. | Flowering May–Sep. |
Habitat | Gentle slopes, mostly northern aspect, in herbaceous or grassy subalpine to alpine meadows, sagebrush openings and swales, snowbank communities, over quartzite. | Meadows, dunes, thickets, upper margins of tidal flats, river flats, gravel bars, tundra, open forests, roadsides, coastal to alpine. |
Elevation | 2100–2900 m. (6900–9500 ft.) | 0–2100 m. (0–6900 ft.) |
Distribution |
ID
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AK; BC; YT; Asia (Russian Far East)
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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 unalaschcensis is a characteristic meadow species across much of the southern Alaskan coast, including the Aleutian Islands, as well as on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and the mainland of western British Columbia and southern Yukon. It is common in the coastal littoral zone and ascends to lower alpine meadow communities. Morphologically, it appears to be a sister species to C. septentrionalis of the Rocky Mountains and boreal sites in eastern North America. A weakly differentiated interior form was described as subsp. transnivalis Pennell. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 595. | FNA vol. 17, p. 663. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. pallida var. unalaschcensis | |
Name authority | N. H. Holmgren: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 100: 91, fig. 5. (1973) | (Chamisso & Schlechtendal) Malte: Rhodora 36: 187. (1934) — (as unalaschkensis) |
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