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Arizona or southern mountains paintbrush, Rincon Mountain Indian paintbrush

Leschke's paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 2.5–8(–10) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot or branched root system. Herbs, perennial, 10 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, erect, decumbent at base, unbranched proximally, branched distally, glabrous proximally, hairy distally, hairs sparse, short, stiff.

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, proximal linear, reduced, middle and distal lanceolate to narrowly elliptic or ovate, proximal 0.5–1.5 cm, middle 6–7 cm (0.8–1.5 cm wide), distal 4–6 cm (2.5–2.3 cm wide), not fleshy, margins plane to sometimes ± wavy, ± involute, 0–3-lobed, apex acute;

lobes ascending, lanceolate, 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.

10–14+ × 6 cm;

bracts proximally dull greenish to dull brownish, distally pale orange to reddish, cuneate to obovate-truncate, 3–5(–9)-lobed, with white, stiff hairs mostly along veins;

lobes ascending to erect, broadly lanceolate or oblong, medium length, arising at or above mid length, center lobe apex rounded, sometimes toothed, others acute to sometimes rounded.

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, 25–30 mm;

tube 12–15 mm;

beak subequal or ± exserted, adaxially green, 12–15 mm;

abaxial lip deep green, reduced, strongly saccate-corrugated, 1.5 mm, 10% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, reduced, green, 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.

distally reddish, 20–28 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 12–15 mm, 50–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (0–)2–6 mm, 0–25% of calyx length;

lobes lanceolate, apex acute.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja nelsonii

Castilleja leschkeana

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering Jun.
Habitat Rocky slopes, meadows, riparian zones, moist ground in open forests, montane to subalpine. Dune swales, swampy ground, near coast.
Elevation 1900–3100 m. (6200–10200 ft.) 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
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 leschkeana was based on a 1947 specimen from a swale near the radio station on Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County. It was found again in 1960, but the species has not been seen or collected since then. The type specimen of C. leschkeana was identified as the Alaskan species C. chrymactis by T. I. Chuang and L. R. Heckard (1993), who considered the California population to be an accidental introduction. However, the flowers of C. leschkeana are shorter than those of C. chrymactis, with a shorter beak that is scarcely exserted. The bract blade and bract lobes of C. leschkeana are shorter, and the pubescence of its bracts is very different, short-hispid and more prominent along the veins than on the blades, contrasting with the longer and soft-villous pubescence of C. chrymactis. M. Wetherwax et al. (2012) agreed that the Point Reyes specimen was misidentified as C. chrymactis, but they were hesitant to place it in any accepted California taxon. Castilleja leschkeana is here recognized as another narrow endemic, worthy of conservation concern if it is relocated.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 633. FNA vol. 17, p. 620.
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. 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. 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) J. T. Howell: Leafl. W. Bot. 5: 91. (1948)
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