The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

wavyleaf Indian paintbrush

entire-leaf paintbrush, foothill paintbrush, Southwestern paintbrush, squawfeather, wholeleaf Indian paintbrush, wholeleaf paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–8 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, sometimes subshrubs, perennial, 0.9–5(–10) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot or stout, branched roots.
Stems

many, erect, unbranched or branched, sometimes with small, leafy axillary branches, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

solitary or few to several, erect to ascending, less commonly bent at base, unbranched, sometimes branched distally, hairs spreading to appressed, fairly short, soft and moderately dense, matted, unbranched, not quite obscuring surface.

Leaves

green or purple-tinged, lanceolate to linear-oblong, 0.8–6.1 cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex rounded to acute;

lobes spreading-ascending, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate.

green to purplish, linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, (1–)2–7(–9) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, involute, 0-lobed distally, sometimes 3-lobed, apex acute to acuminate, sometimes rounded.

Inflorescences

3–34 × 1.5–3.5 cm;

flowers usually distichous, remote, except distalmost;

bracts proximally greenish, distally greenish, reddish, orange-red, or dull orange, rarely yellow, proximal bracts frequently greenish throughout, lanceolate to narrowly ovate or narrowly oblong-elliptic, 0(–3)-lobed, proximal wavy-margined;

lobes ascending, triangular, short, arising near apex, apex acute to obtuse.

2–12(–15) × 1.5–4 cm;

bracts red to red-orange or orange throughout, sometimes crimson, cerise, pale salmon, or pale yellow throughout, or proximally pale green to straw colored, distally colored as above, proximal sometimes narrowly lanceolate, others elliptic to narrowly elliptic, oblong, obovate, or oblanceolate, 0–3(–5)-lobed;

lobes ascending, lanceolate, short, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute.

Corollas

± curved, 25–38 mm;

tube 14–18 mm;

beak and often abaxial lip exserted;

beak adaxially dull orange or dull red, rarely yellow, 14–19 mm;

abaxial lip slightly curved, green, red, whitish, or yellow, not inflated, 2–2.5 mm, 15% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, deep green to reddish, 1–1.5 mm.

straight or slightly curved, (21–)25–45(–50) mm;

tube 17–30(–33) mm;

beak subequal to calyx or strongly exserted, adaxially green, (8–)10–17(–18) mm;

abaxial lip deep green, reduced, usually visible in front cleft, 1–2.8 mm, 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, green or yellow, 0.5–1.5 mm.

Calyces

proximally whitish, green, or purple, distally colored as bracts, 9–18 mm;

abaxial clefts 6–6.5 mm, adaxial 7–9 mm, clefts 33+% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–4 mm, ca. 10% of calyx length;

lobes linear-lanceolate, apex acute.

colored as bracts, (18–)21–35(–38) mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts (6–)9–16(–18) mm, 25–33% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (2–)4–14(–16) mm, 10–15% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate or triangular, apex acute to rounded.

2n

= 24.

= 24, 48.

Castilleja disticha

Castilleja integra

Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep). Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Oct.
Habitat Open conifer forests, rocky or sandy slopes, montane to subalpine. Dry rocky slopes and flats, grasslands, open forests, ledges, road banks, valleys, subalpine.
Elevation 1600–3000 m. (5200–9800 ft.) (600–)1000–3300 m. ((2000–)3300–10800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja disticha is limited to the central and southern Sierra Nevada. Although similar to C. applegatei and C. martini, C. disticha is distinctive and unique in its long, colorful, and highly exserted corollas with the beak exceeding the tube in length, calyces more brightly colored than the often unlobed bracts, and tall, strongly distichous growth form.

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

Castilleja integra is widespread and common in the southwestern United States. It is important to Native Americans for dyes, ceremonies, as a food preservative, and as a medicine. It is sometimes confused with C. lanata or C. miniata but has a distinctive combination of entire, narrow, strongly involute leaves, soft-tomentose pubescence of unbranched hairs, and usually entire bracts, sometimes with one pair of short lobes from the middle. The leaf margins of C. integra are usually plane, but some populations in the Chisos Mountains of Texas are wavy margined. These plants are on the higher slopes of the Chisos Mountains in montane thorn-oak vegetation, and they are also often taller and have longer, more frequently lobed leaves. These variant populations have been called C. elongata, and they deserve further study. Castilleja integra is typically a species of dry grasslands and open forests at moderate elevations. Occasional hybrids with C. linariifolia are known from Montrose County, Colorado.

The Castilleja elongata form of C. integra is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 603. FNA vol. 17, p. 615.
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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms C. applegatei subsp. disticha C. elongata, C. gloriosa, C. integra var. gloriosa
Name authority Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 3, 2: 289. (1902) — (as Castilleia) A. Gray: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 119. (1859)
Web links