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Arizona or southern mountains paintbrush, Rincon Mountain Indian paintbrush

green Indian paintbrush, green paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 2.5–8(–10) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot or branched root system. Herbs, perennial, 2.8–6.6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
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.

several to many, erect to ascending, unbranched or branched, sometimes with short, leafy axillary shoots, glabrous or hairs sparse proximally, distally spreading-erect, long, soft, eglandular, mixed with shorter ones.

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 or purple-tinged, sometimes deep purple, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate or ovate, (1.5–)5–11.7 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat or involute, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes rounded;

lobes erect or ascending, linear, apex acute or 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.

3.5–18 × 3–7.5 cm;

bracts proximally pale green to dull purplish, distally bright red or scarlet to yellow, orange, yellow-orange, and salmon, sometimes tricolored with central band of deeper purple or deeper shade of the far-distal color, broadly lanceolate, oblong, elliptic, or oblong, 0–3(–9)-lobed;

lobes ascending, lanceolate, triangular, or oblong, short, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex rounded, lateral ones acute to obtuse.

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 to slightly curved, 26–43 mm;

tube 16–24 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially green to yellow, 9–19 mm;

abaxial lip whitish or dark green, reduced, not exserted, sometimes visible through front calyx cleft, 1.5–2 mm, 20% as long as beak, glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs spreading;

teeth reduced, incurved, deep green, 0.5–1 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.

colored as bracts, sometimes more deeply pigmented and contrasting with bract coloration, 24–31 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 12–19 mm, 45–65% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 7–11 mm, 25–32% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate, narrowly triangular, or almost oblong, apex acute, sometimes obtuse or acuminate.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja nelsonii

Castilleja chrymactis

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering (Jan–)Feb–Sep(–Oct).
Habitat Rocky slopes, meadows, riparian zones, moist ground in open forests, montane to subalpine. Glacial outwash plains, river flats, moist or wet openings, beach meadows, roadsides.
Elevation 1900–3100 m. (6200–10200 ft.) 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AK
[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.)

Castilleja chrymactis is restricted to the coast of southeastern Alaska, from Glacier Bay to Yakutat. In some respects, it resembles a hybrid swarm between C. miniata and C. unalaschcensis. If C. chrymactis originated as a hybrid, at present it has formed a number of populations and has a stable morphology that differs from both putative parents, especially in calyx structure. Reports of its introduction to Point Reyes, California (T. I. Chuang and L. R. Heckard 1993b), are based on C. leschkeana, a distinctive species known only from two records near the type locality and presumed to be extinct.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 633. FNA vol. 17, p. 596.
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. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, C. chromosa, 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
Synonyms C. austromontana
Name authority Eastwood: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 44: 579. (1909) Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 86: 539. (1934)
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