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Heckard's Indian paintbrush, Heckard's paintbrush

Peirson's paintbrush

Habit Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–4.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, 0.6–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
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 several, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs dense distally, less so proximally, spreading, long, soft, eglandular, also mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones distally.

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 to purple, narrowly to broadly lanceolate to oblong, (0.7–)1.5–4.2(–5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, (0–)3(–5)-lobed, apex acuminate;

lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate to linear, 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.

2.5–7.5(–15) × 1.5–3 cm;

bracts proximally greenish to dull reddish, distally bright red, orange, or pale orange, sometimes yellowish or dull red, broadly lanceolate to oblong, 3–5-lobed;

lobes ascending, linear to lanceolate, ± long, arising above mid length, sometimes below mid length on proximal bracts, central lobe apex acute, rarely narrowly obtuse, lateral ones acute.

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.

slightly curved, 15–28 mm;

tube 13–15 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially yellow or yellow-green, 7–8 mm;

abaxial lip yellow or deep green, reduced, slightly inflated, pouched, protruding out abaxial cleft, 1–2.5 mm, 13–33% as long as beak;

teeth erect or curved, yellow or green, 0.7–1 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 light green or yellow, distally yellow or colored as bracts, 12–20 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1.5–)3–5.8 mm, 10–30% of calyx length;

lobes oblong, apex acute to obtuse.

2n

= 48, 72.

= 24.

Castilleja montigena

Castilleja peirsonii

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, ledges, open conifer forests, thickets, washes. Moist to wet meadows, stream banks, lakeshores, montane to alpine.
Elevation 1900–2900 m. (6200–9500 ft.) 1700–3400 m. (5600–11200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[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.)

Castilleja peirsonii is endemic to the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada of California and in Tahoe Meadows in adjacent Washoe County, Nevada. Plants with yellow bracts in the southern portion of the range were named C. carterae. Castilleja peirsonii has shorter, wider corolla beaks than the related C. parviflora. In addition to the corolla shape differences, C. peirsonii also has red to yellow bracts and fairly bright yellow corollas, especially on the beaks, while C. parviflora has purple, pink, or white bracts and greenish corolla tubes and dorsal beak surfaces, with the beak margins pink, purple, or white. Reports from outside the Sierra Nevada in California and immediately adjacent Nevada are misidentifications. Castilleja peirsonii sometimes hybridizes with C. lemmonii in meadows where both species often occur in large numbers.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 632. FNA vol. 17, p. 644.
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. 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. 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. carterae
Name authority Heckard: Syst. Bot. 5: 83, fig. 17 [center]. (1980) Eastwood: Leafl. W. Bot. 1: 175. (1935) — (as peirsoni)
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