Castilleja chromosa |
Castilleja patriotica |
|
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desert paintbrush |
Huachuca Mountain Indian paintbrush, native 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, 1.7–6 dm; from a slender, 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. |
few to many, erect or ascending, much-branched with many short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs recurved to retrorse, short, ± stiff, eglandular, often with some spreading, long 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, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to involute, (0–)3–7-lobed, apex acute to obtuse; lateral lobes spreading, linear, much shorter and narrower than terminal lobe, apex 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. |
3–17 × 2–7.5 cm; bracts green throughout, sometimes distalmost proximally green, distally red or red-orange on apices, lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, (0–)3–5-lobed; lobes spreading, linear or narrowly lanceolate, short, arising near or below mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute. |
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. |
slightly curved, (24–)27–43 mm; tube 9–20 mm; beak longer than calyx, exserted through abaxial cleft, adaxially green to yellowish, 22–39 mm; abaxial lip deep green, inflated, tight, 1–2.5 mm, 5–10% as long as beak; teeth often spreading, green or white, 0.5–1.6 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. |
proximal 1/3 green, distal 2/3 red to pale red-orange, rarely yellow, (17–)25–35(–40) mm; abaxial clefts 14–29 mm, 67–75% of calyx length, adaxial 2.5–7.3 mm, 5–15% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.3(–2) mm, 0–5% of calyx length; lobes broadly triangular, entire or shallowly cleft, segments, if present, often differing in length, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded. |
2n | = 24, 48. |
= 24. |
Castilleja chromosa |
Castilleja patriotica |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Aug(–Nov). | Flowering Jul–Oct. |
Habitat | Dry sagebrush slopes and flats, pinyon-juniper stands, blackbrush, open yellow pine forests. | Dry slopes and flats, open pine forests, ledges, mostly montane. |
Elevation | 500–3200 m. (1600–10500 ft.) | 2000–3000 m. (6600–9800 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
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AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Sonora)
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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 patriotica is broadly distributed in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico, south to northern Durango and Sinaloa. It is replaced in central and southern Mexico by a related species, C. pectinata M. Martens & Galeotti. Castilleja patriotica reaches the Chiricahua and Huachuca mountains of southeastern Arizona and the adjacent Animas Mountains of southwestern New Mexico. A report from the Atascosa Mountains of southern Arizona needs verification. The numerous, narrow axillary leaves and the narrow leaf lobes combine to give this plant a curious frilly appearance. The narrow, widely divaricate lateral leaf lobes are unique in the flora area. Short, compact plants with smaller flowers were named C. blumeri. Castilleja patriotica has medicinal value to native peoples of the northern Sierra Madre. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 595. | FNA vol. 17, p. 642. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. ewanii, C. martini subsp. ewanii, C. martini var. ewanii | C. blumeri, C. patriotica var. blumeri |
Name authority | A. Nelson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 245. (1899) — (as Castilleia) | Fernald: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 40: 56. (1904) |
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