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Heckard's Indian paintbrush, Heckard's paintbrush

Cahaba Indian paintbrush, Kral's paintbrush

Habit Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–4.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual or biennial, (1.6–)2–4(–4.9) 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.

solitary or few, erect, from a basal rosette that usually persists into anthesis, unbranched or few-branched from mid stem, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

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.

basal forming a persistent rosette, often withered at anthesis, usually suffused to varying degrees with red, sometimes green, oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 2–6 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0-lobed, apex obtuse to broadly rounded to sometimes acute or subtruncate;

cauline green, sometimes proximal suffused with red or purple, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, 1.1–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse;

lobes erect to ascending, narrowly oblong to linear or narrowly lanceolate, to 1.8 cm, apex acute.

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.

(2–)4–24(–33) × 2–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally bright yellow, rarely light orange, proximal narrowly lanceolate, leaflike, distal oblong to broadly rounded-oblanceolate, continuing to grow after anthesis and becoming greener and more leaflike, lateral lobes, if present, growing even more than central lobe, 0–5-lobed;

lobes erect, triangular or lanceolate, sometimes linear, short or medium length, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal rounded, rarely central lobe shallowly toothed.

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 or slightly curved, (15–)17–23 mm;

tube 8–11 mm;

abaxial lip rarely exserted, beak exserted;

beak adaxially green or yellow-green, 5–7 mm, margins yellow or yellow-green;

abaxial lip ascending, deep green, slightly inflated, 2–3 mm, 20–30% as long as beak, apex rounded;

teeth ascending, green, whitish, or yellow, 0.5–2 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.

proximally whitish or pale green, often aging purple, distally yellow, (13–)15–18 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–7 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.2 mm, ca. 0% of calyx length;

lobes curved, oblong, apex rounded to truncate, sometimes emarginate.

2n

= 48, 72.

Castilleja montigena

Castilleja kraliana

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, ledges, open conifer forests, thickets, washes. Full sun or partial shade, outcrops and glades, forest edges, river bluffs, Ketona dolomite.
Elevation 1900–2900 m. (6200–9500 ft.) 90–150 m. (300–500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL
[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.)

Castilleja kraliana is restricted to dolomite glades in Bibb County, which is a local center of endemism near the Cahaba River. Castilleja kraliana has mostly entire, bright yellow bracts and calyces 13–18 mm, and differs from the related C. coccinea, which has deeply lobed and red, rarely yellow, bracts and calyces 17–28 mm.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 632. FNA vol. 17, p. 617.
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. 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. 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
Name authority Heckard: Syst. Bot. 5: 83, fig. 17 [center]. (1980) J. R. Allison: Castanea 66: 159, fig. 3. (2001)
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