Castilleja nana |
Castilleja pallescens |
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alpine paintbrush, dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush, dwarf alpine paintbrush, dwarf paintbrush |
dwarf pale paintbrush, pale Indian paintbrush, pale paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.4–1.7 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, (0.4–)1–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | ||||
Stems | few to several, ascending to decumbent-based, unbranched, hairs spreading, long, soft to stiff, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones. |
few to many, erect to ascending, decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs moderately to very dense, retrorsely curved to appressed, short, ± stiff, eglandular. |
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Leaves | green to deep purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3.1) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to slightly involute, 3(–7)-lobed, apex acuminate; lobes ascending-erect, linear to filiform, apex acute to obtuse. |
purple-tinged or deep purple, sometimes green, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1–4(–5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, ± involute, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acute; lobes spreading or ascending-spreading, linear, apex acute. |
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Inflorescences | 15–20 × 1.5–3 cm; bracts greenish or deep purplish throughout, or proximally greenish or deep purplish, distally white, pink, magenta, reddish purple, purple, or pale yellow, distal coloration often limited to apices and margins, broadly lanceolate or narrowly to broadly elliptic, 0–3(–7)-lobed; lobes spreading, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, long, arising near mid length, apex acute or obtuse. |
(1.5–)4–8(–12) × 1.5–5.5 cm; bracts pale green to yellow-green or reddish purple throughout, or proximally pale green to yellow-green, distally white to cream or pale yellowish, sometimes pink to reddish purple, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, elliptic, or ovate, 3–5(–9)-lobed; lobes spreading to ascending, linear, long, arising along distal 2/3, apex acute to obtuse. |
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Corollas | straight, 10–16(–19) mm; tube 8–13 mm, with patches of blackish coloration on either side of distal portion; beak subequal to calyx or exserted, adaxially green, yellow, whitish, or pink, 3–5.5 mm, scarcely exceeding abaxial lip, margins brown or burgundy, sometimes pink; abaxial lip pale yellow, white, green, or purple, inflated, pouched, 2–5 mm, 65–95% as long as beak; teeth erect to slightly spreading, white, yellow, or pink, 0.5–2.1 mm. |
straight, 13–23(–27) mm; tube 10–20 mm; subequal to calyx or beak slightly exserted; beak adaxially whitish or buff, rarely pink to pink-purple, 3.5–8 mm; abaxial lip proximally green, white, purple, or purplish brown, distally white, yellow, green, pink, or reddish, prominent, pouched, pouches pleated, longer than deep, gradually expanded, 2.5–8 mm, 70–100% as long as beak, puberulent; teeth erect to spreading, pink, cream, or white, sometimes with a yellow spot proximally, 1.5–3.5 mm. |
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Calyces | green to purple, margins green, white, or pink, 10–19 mm; abaxial, adaxial, and lateral clefts 3.5–7(–10) mm, 33–55% of calyx length, all 4 clefts subequal; lobes linear, lanceolate-elliptic, or narrowly triangular, apex acute to rounded. |
colored as bracts, sometimes distally purple with age, 11–25(–27) mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 7–13.6 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0.5–4.3(–6) mm, (0–)5–25% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to triangular, apex usually triangular or acute, rarely ± obtuse. |
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Stigmas | black. |
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2n | = 24. |
= 24, 48. |
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Castilleja nana |
Castilleja pallescens |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Rocky or gravelly slopes, talus, ridges, fellfields, subalpine and alpine, often over granite. | |||||
Elevation | 1900–4300 m. (6200–14100 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; NV; UT
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ID; MT; NV; OR; WY
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Discussion | Castilleja nana is limited to high elevations in the Sierra Nevada of California and the Great Basin ranges in central Nevada and western Utah. Plants with pink to purple inflorescences were described as C. lapidicola. Localized hybrid swarms between C. nana and C. viscidula are known from several mountain ranges in central and northern Nevada. Castilleja nana is sometimes confused with higher elevation forms of C. pilosa but can usually be distinguished from that species by the blackish patches on the sides of the corolla tube. Divergent populations in the central Sierra Nevada and adjacent White Mountains deserve further study. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Castilleja pallescens occurs from valleys to alpine ridges and summits throughout its range, usually in sagebrush communities, but at higher elevations it is also found on dry sites associated with other plant species. The alpine plants are greatly reduced in stature. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 633. | FNA vol. 17, p. 637. | ||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | C. lapidicola | Orthocarpus pallescens | ||||
Name authority | Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 3, 2: 289. (1902) — (as Castilleia) | (A. Gray) Greenman: Bot. Gaz. 25: 266. (1898) — (as Castilleia) | ||||
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