Castilleja levisecta |
Castilleja purpurea |
|
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golden Indian paintbrush, golden paintbrush |
downy Indian paintbrush, prairie paintbrush, purplish paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 1–5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 1.5–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | few to many, erect, ± decumbent or creeping at base, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, medium length and long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones. |
few to many, erect to ascending, branched, sometimes unbranched, hairs fairly dense, spreading to appressed, white, fairly short, soft, ± felty, eglandular, sometimes mixed sparsely with short stipitate-glandular ones, sometimes obscuring surface. |
Leaves | green to purple or brown-tinged, linear-lanceolate proximally, oblong-ovate or -obovate distally, 0.8–5.2 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, distalmost sometimes ± wavy, involute, 3–7(–11)-lobed, apex obtuse; lobes erect to ascending, linear to linear-spatulate, very short, toothlike, usually arising from distal 1/3 of blade, apex rounded. |
green to purple, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 2–7(–9) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes slightly wavy, involute, 3–7-lobed, apex narrowly acute to rounded; lobes spreading, linear, apex obtuse or acute. |
Inflorescences | 2.5–25 × 1–4 cm; bracts bright yellow throughout, or proximally greenish, distally bright yellow, sometimes deep yellow-orange, especially with age, oblong, elliptic, or obtuse to ovate, (0–)5–9(–13)-lobed, sometimes wavy-margined; lobes erect to ascending, oblong, short to medium length, arising above mid length, central lobe apex rounded, lateral ones rounded to acute. |
2.6–16 × 2–4 cm; bracts proximally greenish to deep greenish purple, distally purple, magenta, reddish, pink, or rose, rarely white, cream, light yellow, or dull orangish, proximal linear to lanceolate, distal oblong, 3–7(–9)-lobed; lobes spreading to ascending, linear to oblanceolate, long, arising from distal 2/3, center lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute to rounded. |
Corollas | straight or slightly curved, 17–28 mm; tube 12–15 mm; beak exserted, adaxially green or greenish yellow, 6–8 mm; abaxial lip yellow or greenish, reduced, not inflated, 2–3 mm, 25–33(–50)% as long as beak; teeth ascending to erect, yellow, 0.5–1.5 mm. |
slightly curved, 25–40 mm; tube 16–22 mm; beak exserted, adaxially green, 9–18 mm; abaxial lip green to purple-red, reduced, not strongly pouched, ± protruding, 4–5 mm, 33–50% as long as beak; teeth prominent, petaloid, spreading to erect, colored as in distal portion of bracts, 3–4 mm. |
Calyces | distally yellow, 13–22 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–9.5 mm, 30–40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2.5–4.5 mm, ca. 25% of calyx length; lobes linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate, apex obtuse, sometimes rounded to acute. |
colored as bracts, (20–)25–34 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts (10–)13–22 mm, 50–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 7–16 mm, 35–45% of calyx length; lobes broadly linear to long-triangular or oblong, apex acute to obtuse. |
2n | = 24. |
|
Castilleja levisecta |
Castilleja purpurea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul(–Sep). | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Dry meadows, upland prairie remnants, sunny headlands and coastal bluffs, rocky islands, often over glacial outwash or deposits. | Rocky slopes, ledges, prairies, woodlands, thickets, roadsides, often sandy or limy soils. |
Elevation | 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.) | 200–600 m. (700–2000 ft.) |
Distribution |
OR; WA; BC
|
KS; MO; OK; TX
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Discussion | Castilleja levisecta is listed as threatened in the United States and endangered in Canada, where it is extremely rare. Most of its grassland habitat has been altered by development in the Puget Trough, and there are historical stations in the metro areas of what are now Victoria, Portland, and Seattle. For several decades, C. levisecta was considered extirpated from Oregon. However, recent reintroduction programs in Oregon and Washington have been very successful at reestablishing this species at several sites in the Willamette Valley. The bright yellow inflorescences often gradually age to a golden yellow color, unique in the genus. Castilleja levisecta is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja purpurea is a common species of eastern Oklahoma and central Texas, with a few records from adjacent southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri. It often provides beautiful, multicolored displays in the meadows within its range. Castilleja citrina and C. lindheimeri are closely related species sometimes regarded as varieties of C. purpurea. Hybrids and hybrid swarms between C. indivisa and C. purpurea have been observed at some localities where they are sympatric. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 621. | FNA vol. 17, p. 649. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Euchroma purpurea, C. williamsii | |
Name authority | Greenman: Bot. Gaz. 25: 268. (1898) — (as Castilleia) | (Nuttall) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 4: 615. 1837/1838 |
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