Castilleja cryptantha |
Castilleja nana |
|
---|---|---|
Mt. Rainier or obscure paintbrush, obscure Indian paintbrush, obscure paintbrush |
alpine paintbrush, dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush, dwarf alpine paintbrush, dwarf paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, (0.8–)1–1.9 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.4–1.7 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | few to several, erect or ascending, unbranched, hairs spreading, long, soft, eglandular, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones. |
few to several, ascending to decumbent-based, unbranched, hairs spreading, long, soft to stiff, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones. |
Leaves | green, often with brown or purple veins, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 1.5–4 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, ± involute, 0–3-lobed, apex acute to acuminate; lobes spreading-ascending, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to ± obtuse. |
green to deep purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3.1) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to slightly involute, 3(–7)-lobed, apex acuminate; lobes ascending-erect, linear to filiform, apex acute to obtuse. |
Inflorescences | (2.5–)3–6 × 1–2 cm; green to dull brown or dull reddish purple throughout, or proximally green to dull brown or dull reddish purple, distally yellow on apices, broadly lanceolate to ovate, (0–)3-lobed; lobes ascending, narrowly lanceolate, long or short, arising near mid length, apex acute or acuminate. |
15–20 × 1.5–3 cm; bracts greenish or deep purplish throughout, or proximally greenish or deep purplish, distally white, pink, magenta, reddish purple, purple, or pale yellow, distal coloration often limited to apices and margins, broadly lanceolate or narrowly to broadly elliptic, 0–3(–7)-lobed; lobes spreading, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, long, arising near mid length, apex acute or obtuse. |
Corollas | straight, 14–16 mm; tube 11–14 mm; whole corolla included within calyx; beak adaxially pale yellow, 1–2 mm; abaxial lip deep green, slightly inflated, 4–5 mm, 67% as long as beak; teeth ascending, pale, 1.5–2 mm. |
straight, 10–16(–19) mm; tube 8–13 mm, with patches of blackish coloration on either side of distal portion; beak subequal to calyx or exserted, adaxially green, yellow, whitish, or pink, 3–5.5 mm, scarcely exceeding abaxial lip, margins brown or burgundy, sometimes pink; abaxial lip pale yellow, white, green, or purple, inflated, pouched, 2–5 mm, 65–95% as long as beak; teeth erect to slightly spreading, white, yellow, or pink, 0.5–2.1 mm. |
Calyces | proximally green or pale with green veins, lobes yellow, sometimes becoming deep red with age, 12–15 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 3–7 mm, 25–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–3(–4) mm, 8–20% of calyx length; lobes triangular, adaxial segments longer than abaxials, apex acute or obtuse. |
green to purple, margins green, white, or pink, 10–19 mm; abaxial, adaxial, and lateral clefts 3.5–7(–10) mm, 33–55% of calyx length, all 4 clefts subequal; lobes linear, lanceolate-elliptic, or narrowly triangular, apex acute to rounded. |
Stigmas | black. |
|
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Castilleja cryptantha |
Castilleja nana |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Mesic to moist flat subalpine meadows and turf, to tree line. | Rocky or gravelly slopes, talus, ridges, fellfields, subalpine and alpine, often over granite. |
Elevation | 1500–2000 m. (4900–6600 ft.) | 1900–4300 m. (6200–14100 ft.) |
Distribution |
WA
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CA; NV; UT
|
Discussion | Castilleja cryptantha is endemic to the vicinity of Mt. Rainier in the Cascade Range, with most populations found within Mt. Rainier National Park. Unlike most species of Castilleja, it is apparently self-pollinating (W. J. Duffield 1972); the small flowers are entirely enclosed within the yellowish calyces, which tend to grow deep reddish as they age. The purplish brown bracts are also unusual in the genus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja nana is limited to high elevations in the Sierra Nevada of California and the Great Basin ranges in central Nevada and western Utah. Plants with pink to purple inflorescences were described as C. lapidicola. Localized hybrid swarms between C. nana and C. viscidula are known from several mountain ranges in central and northern Nevada. Castilleja nana is sometimes confused with higher elevation forms of C. pilosa but can usually be distinguished from that species by the blackish patches on the sides of the corolla tube. Divergent populations in the central Sierra Nevada and adjacent White Mountains deserve further study. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 600. | FNA vol. 17, p. 633. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. lapidicola | |
Name authority | Pennell & G. N. Jones: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 50: 208. (1937) | Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 3, 2: 289. (1902) — (as Castilleia) |
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