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Heckard's Indian paintbrush, Heckard's paintbrush

estuarine paintbrush, johnny-nip, owl-clover paintbrush, paint-brush owl-clover, paintbrush, paintbrush owl's-clover

Habit Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–4.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual, sometimes biennial, 0.6–3.5 dm; with fibrous roots.
Stems

few to several, decumbent to erect, sometimes leaning, unbranched or often much-branched distally, with a few short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs spreading, short, soft, stipitate-glandular, mixed with long-spreading, eglandular ones.

few to many, sometimes solitary (var. meadii), ascending or erect, often decumbent proximally, unbranched or branched above base, hairs sparse to moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, eglandular, mixed with short stipitate-glandular hairs.

Leaves

gray-green, sometimes green, lanceolate-linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes wavy, flat to involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate;

lobes spreading-ascending, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.

green or brownish in upland forms, linear-lanceolate to widely lanceolate, linear, elliptic, obovate, or oblong, rarely ovate or cup-shaped, (0.6–)0.8–5 cm, fleshy or not, margins plane, flat, 3–5(–7)-lobed, apex rounded to obtuse or acuminate, abaxial surface often stipitate-glandular, adaxial sometimes shiny, glabrous;

lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, apex acute or obtuse.

Inflorescences

3–30 × 3–4 cm;

bracts proximally green to dark purplish, distally red to crimson, sometimes pale salmon, linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 3–5-lobed;

lobes spreading, linear, long, arising below mid length, apex acute, sometimes obtuse.

1.5–9(–13) × 1–4 cm;

bracts proximally green, rarely brownish purple, distally white, cream, pink, or purple on apices, lanceolate, oblong, or ovate, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes ascending or divaricate-ascending, oblong to linear, short to long, arising below or above mid length, central lobe apex usually rounded to truncate, others acute to obtuse.

Corollas

straight or slightly curved, 20–40 mm;

tube 15–23 mm;

abaxial lip exserted to included, beak much exserted;

beak adaxially yellow-green to reddish, 9–18 mm;

abaxial lip green, reduced, 0.5–1.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, green, (0–)0.5–1.5 mm.

straight, 14–24 mm;

tube 11–21 mm, expanded distally;

abaxial lip and beak usually exserted, beak straight or slightly curved, adaxially white, yellow, or pink, sometimes green or purplish, (1–)4–7 mm, sparsely to densely short-hairy;

abaxial lip pale to bright yellow, sometimes becoming pink, orange, or red after anthesis, with red-brown or purple spots at base of each tooth and sometimes at base of each pouch, conspicuous, pouches 3, ± prominent, divergent, saccate, 2–7 × 3–7 mm, (33–)60–75(–90)% as long as beak;

teeth erect, sometimes spreading, white, pink, purple, or green, often with whitish bases, 1–3 mm.

Calyces

colored as bracts, 15–20 mm;

abaxial clefts 3.4–6.2 mm, adaxial 4.5–9 mm, clefts 25–33% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0.5–2 mm, 5–10% of calyx length;

lobes narrowly triangular, often slightly unequal, apex acute.

green to pale yellowish green or tipped with white or purple, 8–23 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9 mm, 33–50(–67)% of calyx length, lateral 2–5.5 mm, 20–40% of calyx length;

lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to oblong or ± triangular, apex acuminate or narrowly acute to obtuse or rounded.

Filaments

glabrous.

2n

= 48, 72.

= 24.

Castilleja montigena

Castilleja ambigua

Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, ledges, open conifer forests, thickets, washes.
Elevation 1900–2900 m. (6200–9500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja montigena is endemic to the northeastern portion of the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. In the field, this species is consistently and relatively easily distinguished from nearby populations of C. martini var. martini, which it essentially replaces in the northeastern portion of the San Bernardino Mountains. It is apparently of allopolyploid hybrid origin between C. martini var. martini and C. chromosa, which approaches its range from the adjacent Mojave Desert.

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

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

Castilleja ambigua is a complex species, treated here with four varieties, though many localized variations exist among populations, and these are still incompletely understood.

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

Key
1. Bract lobes linear; stems erect; moist inland meadows and vernal pools on volcanic substrates; c Napa County, California.
var. meadii
1. Bract lobes linear to oblong; stems ± decumbent, at least proximally; coastal salt marshes, margins of brackish estuaries, coastal sandy bluffs, mesic to ± xeric inland grasslands; British Columbia to California.
→ 2
2. Bracts pink to purple distally; stems unbranched or few-branched from mid stem; salt marshes; Humboldt Bay region, nw California.
var. humboldtiensis
2. Bracts white distally, rarely pink or cream; stems often branched from base; salt marshes, sandy coastal bluffs, inland grasslands; British Columbia to California.
→ 3
3. Corolla beaks usually white or yellow, abaxial lips yellow; salt marshes, sandy coastal bluffs, inland grasslands; s British Columbia to c California.
var. ambigua
3. Corolla beaks usually pink to purplish, abaxial lips yellow, becoming white and then red or soft pink-purple; grassy coastal bluffs and adjacent sand dunes; vicinity of Monterey Bay, California.
var. insalutata
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 632. FNA vol. 17, p. 584.
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. lutescens, C. martini, C. mendocinensis, C. mexicana, C. miniata, C. minor, C. mogollonica, C. mollis, 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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. ambigua var. ambigua, C. ambigua var. humboldtiensis, C. ambigua var. insalutata, C. ambigua var. meadii
Name authority Heckard: Syst. Bot. 5: 83, fig. 17 [center]. (1980) Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 154. (1833)
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