Castilleja linariifolia
Castilleja rigida
desert paintbrush, desert paintbursh, linaria-leaf Indian paintbrush, narrow leaf paintbrush, narrow-leaf Indian paintbrush, Wyoming Indian paintbrush, Wyoming or narrow-leaf or long-leaf paintbrush, Wyoming paintbrush
rigid Indian paintbrush, rigid paintbrush
few to many, ascending to erect, much-branched, glabrous proximally, hairy distally, sometimes glabrous or hairy throughout, hairs sparse, sometimes dense, spreading to slightly retrorse, short to long, ± stiff, eglandular.
few to many, erect to basally ascending, sometimes with subtle, curvy zigzags, unbranched, sometimes branched, proximally or with short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs loosely spreading, long, soft, ± wavy, eglandular and shorter stipitate-glandular.
± yellow to gray-green, sometimes becoming ± purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (1–)2–10 cm, not fleshy, rarely ± thickened and fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute or acuminate;
lobes spreading, linear, apex acute to acuminate.
green, linear-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, narrowly lanceolate, or narrowly oblanceolate, 2–5.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0-lobed, apex acute, distalmost obtuse to rounded.
4–20 × 2–7.5 cm;
bracts red to red-orange throughout, sometimes pale green, yellow, magenta, pink-purple, or white throughout, or proximally pale greenish to straw colored, distally colored as above, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 3(–5)-lobed;
lobes spreading to ascending, narrowly lanceolate to linear, shorter than central lobe, arising in proximal 1/3, apex obtuse to acuminate.
2–7.5 × 2–3.5 cm;
bracts proximally greenish, distally abruptly rose red, bright red, or red-orange, narrowly to broadly oblong-obovate to obovate or ovate-elliptic, 0-lobed;
apex rounded to obtuse.
often slightly curved, 25–45 mm;
tube 11–22(–25) mm;
beak exserted, longer than calyx lobes, usually projecting through abaxial cleft;
beak adaxially yellow-green or green, 9–21(–24) mm;
abaxial lip deep green, reduced, often visible in exserted sideways through abaxial calyx cleft, 0.5–3 mm, 10–15% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, green or whitish, 5–2(–3) mm.
straight or slightly curved, (24–)28–36(–42) mm;
tube 15–22 mm;
beak exserted, adaxially green to yellow-green, (8–)10–14 mm;
abaxial lip dark green, reduced, 0.5–1.5 mm, 7–12% as long as beak;
teeth reduced, green to yellowish green, 0.5–1.5 mm.
proximally greenish, whitish, or yellowish, distally colored as bracts, 18–30(–35) mm;
abaxial clefts 10–20(–22) mm, adaxial 2–6(–12) mm, abaxial ca. 70% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 20–25% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–5(–6) mm, 12–17% of calyx length;
lobes curved slightly toward adaxial side, narrowly oblong to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.
colored as bracts, sometimes with a yellow central band, 20–32(–36) mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts (5–)7–14 mm, ca. 40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.5 mm, 0–7% of calyx length;
lobes poorly developed, if present, rounded, apex rounded to truncate, sometimes emarginate.
= 24, 48.
Castilleja linariifolia
Castilleja rigida
Castilleja linariifolia is widespread in the western United States and is important to Native Americans as a source of dyes and for medicinal and ceremonial purposes (D. E. Moerman 1998). It is the state flower of Wyoming. Castilleja linariifolia is closely associated with, and undoubtedly parasitic on, the roots of sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata. The bracts are usually red to red-orange, with uncommon yellow-bracted variants. On the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in California, most populations have pink-purple to magenta bracts, and at least one population has almost pure white bracts. Plants associated with hot springs in the Ash Meadows area of Nye County, Nevada, are unusually tall and have somewhat fleshy leaves. Castilleja linariifolia stems are usually glabrous, but pubescent stems are sporadic across its range. However, in the Mt. Charleston area of the Spring Mountains, in southern Nevada, most plants are pubescent, ranging from an inconspicuous layer to a fairly dense and obvious indument. These plants have been called forma omnipubescens Pennell. Elsewhere, especially in central and northern Arizona, individuals with short-pubescent stems are intermingled with more typical plants. In addition, late-blooming forms associated with hot spring sites in the eastern Mojave Desert are particularly thick-stemmed and vigorous. Hybrids between C. linariifolia and C. scabrida are known from Garfield County, Utah. Castilleja linariifolia is parapatric with the similar C. wootonii in central New Mexico. Castilleja linariifolia is reported to hybridize with C. chromosa, C. flava, and C. miniata. A possible hybrid with C. septentrionalis was named C. ×cognata Greene.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Castilleja rigida is endemic to desert scrub on limestone deposits in the Chihuahuan Desert region and the adjacent western edge of the Edwards Plateau. It is almost always closely associated with, and most likely parasitic on, Agave lechuguilla. The majority of its range is in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, east of the Sierra Madre Occidental, as well as in Coahuila and Nuevo León, where it is a characteristic component of the regional flora, but also extends into a few counties in southwestern Texas. It is sometimes confused with the similar species, C. nervata, which is widespread in the sierras of western Mexico and is known from a single extant population in the western Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Castilleja nervata and C. rigida are largely parapatric in Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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