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

cock's-comb paintbrush, mountainside Indian paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, 1–5 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 several, erect or ascending, unbranched or branched, sometimes with short, leafy axillary shoots, hairy, sometimes glabrate proximally, hairs spreading to retrorse, medium length to long, soft, eglandular, often mixed distally with 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, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0–5-lobed, apex acute;

lateral lobes spreading, linear, 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.

3–6(–11) × 1.5–6.5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally red, red-orange, or orange, sometimes yellow or dull salmon, narrowly to broadly lanceolate or oblong, 3–5-lobed;

lobes ascending-spreading, linear-lanceolate, long, arising below mid length, central lobe apex rounded to obtuse, lateral ones acute.

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, (25–)30–40(–45) mm;

tube 15–20 mm;

abaxial lip visible through front cleft, beak long-exserted from calyx;

beak adaxially green or yellow-green, 16–21 mm;

abaxial lip proximally white or yellow-green, distally green, reduced, usually visible in front cleft, 3 mm, 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved to ascending, green, 1 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.

colored as bracts, (20–)25–35 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts (6–)10–17 mm, 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)3–6(–10) mm, 35% of calyx length;

lobes slender, triangular, apex acute.

2n

= 48, 96.

= 96.

Castilleja lutescens

Castilleja crista-galli

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Grasslands, open conifer forests, moist meadows, rocky slopes, valleys, montane. Rocky slopes, talus, ridges, dry to moist, open, conifer forests, montane meadows.
Elevation 600–1900 m. (2000–6200 ft.) 1500–2900 m. (4900–9500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT; WY
[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 crista-galli is found in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming. The extent of its distribution into adjacent Idaho is unresolved, in part because it is frequently confused with either C. linariifolia or C. miniata. Castilleja crista-galli appears to be morphologically intermediate between them, leading to speculation that it might be an allopolyploid derivative. A DNA study (S. Matthews and M. Lavin 1998) showed little support for a hybrid origin. Castilleja crista-galli may be separated with some difficulty from the other two species by the presence of at least some short hairs on the stems and the frequently three- to five-parted leaves. Castilleja linariifolia and C. miniata both usually have subglabrous stems and entire leaves, sometimes three-parted distally, near the inflorescence.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 624. FNA vol. 17, p. 599.
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. chrysantha, C. cinerea, C. citrina, C. coccinea, C. collegiorum, C. covilleana, 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
Name authority (Greenman) Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 359. (1900) Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 355. (1900)
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