Castilleja linariifolia
Castilleja scabrida
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
rough Indian paintbrush, rough 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.
several, decumbent, often sprawling, distally ascending, unbranched unless injured, rarely with small, leafy axillary shoots, hairs spreading, whitish, short, ± stiff, eglandular.
± 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.
gray-green, sometimes green or reddish purple, reduced and scalelike on proximal 10–25% of stem, linear, lanceolate, or narrowly elliptic, 1.5–4(–5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute;
lobes spreading or spreading-ascending, linear or lanceolate, apex acute.
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.
2.5–10 × 2.5–5 cm;
bracts proximally green to deep greenish purple, distally bright red, sometimes brick red or orange-red, linear to lanceolate, 3–5(–7)-lobed;
lobes spreading, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, sometimes expanded near tip, long, arising near base and more distally, apex acute 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, 25–40(–45) mm;
tube 11–24 mm;
beak exserted, adaxially green to yellow, 10–17(–20) mm;
abaxial lip green, reduced, visible through front cleft, 1.5–2.5 mm, 10–15% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, green, 0.5–1 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, 18–33 mm;
abaxial clefts 6–12 mm, adaxial 8–15 mm, clefts 40–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–6 mm, 15–25% of calyx length;
lobes lanceolate or narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate.
= 24, 48.
= 24.
Castilleja linariifolia
Castilleja scabrida
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.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Castilleja scabrida consists of two varieties distinguished by range and habitat differences, as well as by the morphological characters of the key. Both varieties are often confused with the similar and broadly sympatric C. chromosa but can be differentiated from the latter most easily by the presence of scalelike vestigial leaves on the proximal stems of C. scabrida.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf lobes lanceolate, sometimes linear-lanceolate; stems and leaves appearing grayish; substrates sandstone or clay. | var. scabrida |
1. Leaf lobes linear; stems and leaves greenish, rarely reddish purple to grayish green; substrates calcareous. | var. barnebyana |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
