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

entireleaf Indian paintbrush, Texas paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.4–6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual, (0.5–)1–4.5 dm; with a taproot or branched root system.
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.

solitary or few, erect, unbranched or 1–4 branches from proximal 1/2, hairs spreading, long, soft, often mixed 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, not forming a distinct basal rosette, sometimes relatively dense proximally with short internodes, similar in size and shape to more distal cauline leaves, narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, (1.5–)2–8(–9) cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, sometimes plane, involute, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute;

lobes erect, linear or filiform to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to 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.

2–16(–20) × 3–5.5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally scarlet or bright red, sometimes deep to pale pink, peach, yellow, white, or magenta, sometimes with a white to rarely yellow medial band between green and brightly colored distal portion, proximal narrowly lanceolate, distal shorter and oblong-obovate, broadly obovate, or obtrullate, 0(–5)-lobed;

lobes erect or ascending, triangular, short, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal obtuse, rounded, or truncate.

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.

curved in proximal 1/3, 15–29 mm;

tube 2–3.5 mm;

whole corolla included or beak partly exserted, abaxial lip included;

beak adaxially green, yellow, or pink, 4–10 mm;

abaxial lip green, white, or yellow, reduced, pouches 3, 2 mm, 25–30% as long as beak;

teeth erect, green, white, or yellow, 0.5 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 light green, distally red, pale pink, or white, rarely pale yellow, usually paler than bracts, often with a white to yellow medial band between green and brightly colored distal portion, 16–31 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–10 mm, 25–33% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0(–0.2) mm, 0(–4)% of calyx length;

lobes expanded distally, apices much wider than narrow calyx tube, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate.

2n

= 48, 96.

= 24.

Castilleja lutescens

Castilleja indivisa

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Jan–Jun(–Dec).
Habitat Grasslands, open conifer forests, moist meadows, rocky slopes, valleys, montane. Grasslands, pastures, dunes, oak savannas, limestone glades, open woodlands, roadsides, often in sand or clay.
Elevation 600–1900 m. (2000–6200 ft.) 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; LA; OK; TX; Mexico (Aguascalientes, Chihuahua)
[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 indivisa is native in Texas and adjacent states. In Mexico it is rare, with collections only from two states; these are likely waifs. This species is possibly extirpated from Arkansas. Records from Alabama (starting in 1995) and Florida (starting in 1961) are adventive populations, often on roadsides, and in some cases spreading from ornamental highway plantings. Castilleja indivisa usually has bright red bract apices and red, white, or pale pink calyx apices, but many color variants are found in nature and in cultivation, including individuals with the distal portion of the bracts colored white, pink, pale yellow, peach, or, very rarely, magenta. Uniformly white-bracted populations occur on the margins of tidal salt marshes in a small area of Nueces County, Texas, between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. These populations likely deserve nomenclatural recognition, due to their combination of consistent coloration and unique habitat. While the main bloom period is in the spring, summer rains often allow continuing or renewed flowering during virtually any month of the year. Occasionally, plants show variation in leaf lobing; this likely reflects introgression from the C. purpurea complex, at least in some cases, such as in Coleman and McCullough counties, Texas.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 624. FNA vol. 17, p. 615.
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. 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. 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) Engelmann: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 255. (1845)
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