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stiff yellow Indian paintbrush, stiff yellow paintbrush, yellow paintbrush, yellowish paintbrush

Wallowa paintbrush, yellow paintbrush, yellow Wallowa Indian paintbrush, yellowish or common Wallowa paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, (0.5–)1–2(–5) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
Stems

few to several, erect or ascending, sometimes decumbent at base, unbranched or branched, hairs spreading to retrorse, short, scabrid below inflorescence, sometimes becoming medium length to long, soft to stiff, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones in inflorescence.

few to many, erect or ascending, often decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with dense, shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

Leaves

green, sometimes purplish, linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 1–8.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute lengthwise, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute;

lobes ascending, linear, central one sometimes shallowly toothed, apex acute to obtuse.

green or purple-tinged, sometimes deep purple, broadly lanceolate, sometimes linear-lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 1.5–4.8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, 0–3-lobed, apex acute;

lobes ascending or spreading, linear to narrowly linear or narrowly lanceolate, short, apex acuminate.

Inflorescences

3–14 × 1.5–3 cm;

bracts greenish throughout, or proximally greenish, distally pale to bright yellow or whitish, rarely pale orangish, lanceolate to oblong, (0–)3–7-lobed;

lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, medium length, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute.

3–17 × 1–3 cm;

bracts greenish or pale yellow-green throughout, or proximally greenish or pale yellow-green, distally pale yellow to whitish, sometimes pink-purple, or pale, dull purplish, sometimes aging pink or yellow, often infused with light purple, rarely pink, ovate to broadly acute, (0–)3-lobed;

lobes ascending, linear-lanceolate, oblong, or triangular, short, arising below mid length, apex acute to obtuse.

Corollas

straight or slightly curved, 21–27 mm;

tube 14–16 mm;

beak partly exserted, adaxially green, 7–12 mm;

abaxial lip ascending, green, reduced, 2–4 mm, 25–50% as long as beak;

teeth erect or incurved, sometimes spreading, green or white, 0.7–2.5 mm.

straight, (16–)20–25 mm;

tube 15–18 mm;

beak slightly exserted, adaxially green to yellow, 5.5–8.5 mm;

abaxial lip white, green and white, pink, or purple, ± prominent, appressed (proximally scarcely or not pouched), 3–5 mm, 67% as long as beak;

teeth erect, white or pink with some purple or red, 1.5–2.5 mm.

Calyces

colored as bracts, 15–25 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–13 mm, 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–7 mm, 15% of calyx length;

lobes narrowly triangular to linear, apex acute.

proximally green, pale with green veins, purple-tinged green, or purple, distally pale yellow, white, or purplish, 12–20 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 8–12 mm, 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0.5–3 mm, 5–15% of calyx length;

lobes short-triangular, apex obtuse, rounded, or truncate.

2n

= 48, 96.

Castilleja lutescens

Castilleja chrysantha

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering May–Oct.
Habitat Grasslands, open conifer forests, moist meadows, rocky slopes, valleys, montane. Flat, mesic meadows, dry talus and ridges, montane to alpine.
Elevation 600–1900 m. (2000–6200 ft.) 1100–2800 m. (3600–9200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja lutescens is found east of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington and ranges east to western Montana and the adjacent interior of western Canada. Its inflorescences vary in color from entirely greenish to white or yellowish, and the stature of the plants is also variable, trending from moderate and compact in grasslands to taller in more forested situations. In the Blue Mountains of Garfield County, Washington, occasional hybrids form between C. lutescens and C. hispida var. acuta, which often both occur in the same vicinity.

L. R. Heckard (1968) reported a chromosome count of ca. 2n = 120 from a population in Montana.

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

Castilleja chrysantha is endemic to the mountains of northeastern Oregon, and its patterns of variation need further study. Most plants in the Blue Mountains are taller, more erect, and tolerate lower elevation habitats than populations around the type locality in the Wallowa Mountains. Plants with purplish inflorescences and longer hairs were described as C. ownbeyana and tend to favor drier talus and ridges than plants like the type, found in flat, mesic, montane to subalpine meadows. Hybrids between C. chrysantha and C. fraterna occur in Wallowa County. In the Wallowa Mountains, a recurrent and variable hybrid form between C. chrysantha and C. rhexiifolia was described as C. wallowensis Pennell.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 624. FNA vol. 17, p. 596.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms C. pallida var. lutescens C. ownbeyana
Name authority (Greenman) Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 359. (1900) Greenman: Bot. Gaz. 48: 146. (1909)
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