The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Arizona or southern mountains paintbrush, Rincon Mountain Indian paintbrush

field owl's-clover, meadow paintbrush, vernal pool Indian paintbrush, yellow owl's clover

Habit Herbs, perennial, 2.5–8(–10) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot or branched root system. Herbs, annual, (0.3–)0.9–3 dm; with fibrous roots.
Stems

few to many, ascending to erect, unbranched or often strongly and diffusely branched distally, hairs sparse to dense, spreading to matted, long proximally on stem, becoming puberulent distally, ± stiff, eglandular, often mixed with retrorse shorter ones.

solitary or few, erect, unbranched, sometimes branched, glabrous or hairs sparse proximally, spreading, long, soft distally.

Leaves

green, linear-lanceolate or narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 2–6.5(–8) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acute;

lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse.

green, sometimes purple-tinged, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (0.4–)1–4 cm, not fleshy, thin and flexible or thick and ± brittle, margins plane, involute, 0-lobed, apex acuminate.

Inflorescences

(2.5–)5–15 × 2–4.5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally scarlet to red or orange-red, rarely yellow or crimson, veins usually yellow or yellow-green, contrasting conspicuously with base color, lanceolate or elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, 0–3(–5)-lobed;

lobes ascending, lanceolate to triangular, medium length, arising above mid length, apex rounded to obtuse.

2–15 × 2–3 cm;

bracts green throughout, sometimes purplish tinged, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0-lobed, apex acute.

Corollas

slightly curved, 15–35 mm, subequal to calyx or beak partially to strongly exserted;

tube 15–17 mm;

beak adaxially yellowish green, 10–16 mm;

abaxial lip green, reduced, ± pouched, 0.5–1.5 mm, 4–10% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, deep green, 0.7–1 mm.

straight, 11–26 mm;

tube 10–22 mm;

abaxial lip, beak, and part of tube exserted from calyx;

beak adaxially white or yellow, 3–6 mm;

abaxial lip yellow, sometimes orange, paler near teeth, prominent, deeply saccate with 3 lobes at ca. 90° from one another, pouches 6–10 mm wide, 3–4 mm deep, abruptly widening from tube, sacs ± round or ± rounded-triangular from above, villous within at base of teeth, 4–5 mm (2–4 mm from sinus), 70–90% as long as beak, puberulent;

teeth erect, white, sometimes with deeply colored bases, 0.5–2 mm.

Calyces

mostly yellowish throughout, with a thin reddish apex, 15–27 mm;

abaxial clefts (5–)9–11 mm, adaxial 4.5–9.5 mm, clefts 25–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–4 mm, 10–20% of calyx length;

lobes linear-lanceolate to triangular, apex acute to acuminate, rarely ± obtuse.

proximally green, pale, or purplish, distally purple or green, 5.5–11 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 2–5 mm, 30–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–2.5 mm, 25–30% of calyx length;

lobes linear-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Castilleja nelsonii

Castilleja campestris

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat Rocky slopes, meadows, riparian zones, moist ground in open forests, montane to subalpine.
Elevation 1900–3100 m. (6200–10200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja nelsonii is fairly common in the upper elevations of the so-called sky island ranges from central and eastern Arizona to adjacent New Mexico, southward into the Sierra Madre Occidental, at least as far south as southern Chihuahua, where the type collection was obtained on Cerro Mohinora. Although it was long known in the United States as C. austromontana, the name C. nelsonii has priority. Some specimens from southern Coconino County, Arizona, approach C. miniata, but most material is easily separable. Castilleja nelsonii occasionally hybridizes with C. mogollonica in Apache County, Arizona, near the border of the range of the former.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Castilleja campestris is sometimes confused with Triphysaria eriantha subsp. eriantha, but C. campestris has two-celled anthers and entire leaves, while T. eriantha has one pollen sac per stamen and strongly divided leaves.

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

Key
1. Leaves and bracts linear; leaves thin, flexible; bracts shorter than or ± equal to flowers; corollas light to bright yellow; proximal pollen sacs to 1/3 length of distal.
var. campestris
1. Leaves and bracts lanceolate; leaves thick, ± brittle; bracts longer than flowers; corollas usually yellow to orange; proximal pollen sacs ca. 1/2 length of distal.
var. succulenta
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 633. FNA vol. 17, p. 592.
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. montigena, C. nana, 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. 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. campestris var. campestris, C. campestris var. succulenta
Synonyms C. austromontana Orthocarpus campestris
Name authority Eastwood: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 44: 579. (1909) (Bentham) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. 16: 656. (1991)
Web links