Castilleja chromosa |
Castilleja covilleana |
|
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desert paintbrush |
Coville's Indian paintbrush, Coville's or cushion or Rocky Mountain paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, sometimes subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–3.5(–4.5) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 1–3(–4) dm; from a stout, woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | several to many, ascending to erect, often grayish, unbranched, rarely branched, sometimes with short, leafy axillary branches, hairs spreading-erect, long, stiff, eglandular, sometimes also with shorter, stipitate-glandular ones. |
several, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs sparse, spreading or retrorse, moderately long, soft, crisped, eglandular, mixed with shorter ones. |
Leaves | gray-green, linear, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, sometimes broadly lanceolate, (1.5–)2.5–6(–7) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, sometimes with secondary lobes, apex acuminate to obtuse; lobes spreading, linear, apex acuminate. |
green, brown, or purple, linear to lanceolate, 1.5–6 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, rarely ± wavy, involute, 3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute; lobes widely spreading, deep, linear to narrowly lanceolate, lateral lobes not much narrower than central one, apex acuminate. |
Inflorescences | 2.5–15 (much longer in fruit) × 1.5–5.5 cm; bracts proximally greenish to dull purplish, distally bright red to scarlet or orange-red, rarely yellowish to dull orange or pink, narrowly to broadly linear or lanceolate, narrowly ovate, or oblong-lanceolate, (0–)3–7-lobed, rarely with secondary lobes; lobes spreading, linear to oblong, sometimes oblanceolate, often expanded near tip, long, proximal lobes arising below mid length, apex rounded or obtuse to sometimes acute. |
3–22 (longer in fruit) × 1–5 cm; bracts proximally greenish to deep purplish, distally bright red or scarlet, sometimes orange to pale yellow, linear, (3–)5–7-lobed, sometimes with secondary lobes; lobes spreading, linear to oblanceolate, long, arising below mid length, apex acute to obtuse. |
Corollas | straight or ± curved, 18–35(–40) mm; tube 8–15 mm; beak short- or long-exserted, adaxially green to yellow-green, (9–)10–18 mm; abaxial lip deep green, reduced, thickened, included to exserted, 2–3 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak; teeth incurved, deep green, 0.5–1 mm. |
straight, 20–35 mm; tube 13–23 mm; beak and usually part of abaxial lip exserted; beak adaxially green, 6.9–13 mm; abaxial lip deep green, reduced, thickened, included or visible through front calyx cleft, 1.7–3.8 mm, 10–25% as long as beak; teeth incurved, yellow or deep green, 0.7–1.7 mm. |
Calyces | colored as bracts, sometimes with broad yellow band below colored lobe apices, (17–)20–27 mm; abaxial clefts 4–10 mm, adaxial 6–12 mm, abaxial ca. 30% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–4 mm, ca. 15% of calyx length; lobes oblong or ovate to narrowly triangular or lanceolate, apex obtuse to rounded. |
colored as bracts, sometimes paler proximally, 15–26(–33) mm; abaxial clefts 4–7.4 mm, adaxial 7–10 mm, abaxial 21–37% of calyx length, adaxial 28–51% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–3.5(–5) mm, 8–18% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to triangular, apex acute. |
2n | = 24, 48. |
= 48. |
Castilleja chromosa |
Castilleja covilleana |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Aug(–Nov). | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry sagebrush slopes and flats, pinyon-juniper stands, blackbrush, open yellow pine forests. | Rocky slopes, ledges, talus, ridges, open conifer forests, moist to dry substrates, montane to alpine. |
Elevation | 500–3200 m. (1600–10500 ft.) | 1200–3100 m. (3900–10200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
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ID; MT
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Discussion | Castilleja chromosa is sometimes confused with 3b. C. angustifolia var. dubia (see discussion there). Castilleja chromosa retains its distinctive morphology across its wide range and is a characteristic species of much of the southwestern United States. Where it overlaps with C. angustifolia, the two are distinguished by inflorescence color and width and by the lengths of the calyx, corolla, and corolla beak. In the broad region of their sympatry, there is little evidence of intergradation, except in a few sites in Elko County, Nevada, and in southern Wyoming. Throughout southern Idaho and northeastern Nevada the range of the two overlap with little or no intergradation. At high elevations in Montrose County, Colorado, C. chromosa has narrower leaves and a longer and silkier pubescence, especially in the inflorescence. Apparent hybrids between C. chromosa and C. flava var. rustica are known from Custer County, Idaho, and hybrids with C. linariifolia are known from Montrose County, Colorado. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja covilleana is endemic to the mountains of central Idaho and adjacent southwestern Montana. A collection of unusually tall plants was described as C. multisecta. Castilleja covilleana is closely related to C. rupicola. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 595. | FNA vol. 17, p. 599. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. ewanii, C. martini subsp. ewanii, C. martini var. ewanii | C. multisecta |
Name authority | A. Nelson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 245. (1899) — (as Castilleia) | L. F. Henderson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 27: 353. (1900) — (as Castilleia) |
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