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desert paintbrush

Sierra woolly Indian paintbrush, Sierra woolly paintbrush, woolly paintbrush

Habit Herbs, sometimes subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–3.5(–4.5) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Subshrubs or herbs, perennial, 1.8–9(–10) dm; from a woody caudex; with a thick, woody taproot or system to thick, branched roots.
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.

few to many, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched distally, sometimes with leafy axillary shoots, lanate to woolly, hairs dense, spreading to weakly appressed, white to yellowish, medium length, soft, moderately branched or unbranched in different populations, sometimes mixed, eglandular, rarely short stipitate-glandular, mostly obscuring surface.

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 to purple, often hidden by matted, white hairs, linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate, (1–)2–7(–10) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, sometimes involute, 0–3-lobed, apex rounded, sometimes acute;

lobes spreading, linear or narrowly oblong, apex rounded to acute.

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.

2–19 × 1.5–5 cm;

bracts proximally pale greenish to greenish gray, distally bright red to orange-red, sometimes pinkish, magenta, or salmon, rarely yellow, oblong to narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, deeply 0–3(–5)-lobed;

lobes spreading, oblanceolate or linear, long, arising below mid length, distal bract apex usually rounded.

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.

curved in proximal 1/3, 23–35(–42) mm;

tube 12–17 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially greenish to yellowish, 11–22 mm;

abaxial lip dark green, reduced, 1–4 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, reduced, green, 0.5–2.5 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.

proximally whitish to green, central band whitish, distal 1/3 colored as bract lobes, sometimes lighter or deeper, 15–29 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–14 mm, ca. 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–5 mm, 0–5(–15)% of calyx length;

lobes oblong to broadly triangular, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate.

2n

= 24, 48.

= 24.

Castilleja chromosa

Castilleja lanata

Phenology Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Aug(–Nov). Flowering year-round.
Habitat Dry sagebrush slopes and flats, pinyon-juniper stands, blackbrush, open yellow pine forests. Dry rocky slopes, ridges, canyons, flats, valleys, montane.
Elevation 500–3200 m. (1600–10500 ft.) 300–2300 m. (1000–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Most records of Castilleja lanata are from the southern third of Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Texas. Plants sometimes referred to C. lanata from the Channel Islands of California are assigned here to C. hololeuca, an insular endemic. In northern Mexico, C. lanata extends from San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León westward to Sonora, with a disjunct distribution in central Baja California, where it overlaps the southern limits of a related species, C. foliolosa. Castilleja lanata inhabits a wide spectrum of soils and elevations and does not co-occur with the closely related C. galehintoniae in Nuevo León, where the latter is limited to limestone and gypsum substrates in a narrow elevational range. Hybrids of C. lanata with C. sessiliflora are known from Pecos County, Texas.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 595. FNA vol. 17, p. 618.
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. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, 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. 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
Synonyms C. ewanii, C. martini subsp. ewanii, C. martini var. ewanii
Name authority A. Nelson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 245. (1899) — (as Castilleia) A. Gray: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 118. (1859)
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