Castilleja nivea |
Castilleja hyperborea |
|
---|---|---|
snow Indian paintbrush, snow paintbrush, snowy paintbrush |
northern Indian paintbrush, northern paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.7–2.6 dm; from a many-headed, short, woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | few to several, erect to ascending, decumbent at base, unbranched except for small, leafy axillary shoots, hairs weakly spreading to appressed, ± matted, especially distally on stem, fairly short and sparse proximally, longer and denser distally, soft, eglandular, becoming woolly, often obscuring surface. |
few, ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, glabrate to sparsely hairy proximally, becoming densely hairy distally, proximal hairs appressed, white, short, soft, eglandular, distal hairs widely spreading to erect, white or yellowish, long to very long, soft, eglandular. |
Leaves | gray with hairs, surface green to purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1–3.8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, involute, 0–3-lobed, apex acute; lobes ascending-spreading, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse. |
green to sometimes red-brown or dull purplish, linear to linear-lanceolate, 1.5–4 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, involute, (0–)3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to acuminate; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate, laterals ± divaricate, often abruptly up-curved from plane of main leaf blade, proximals usually 33–50% as long as leaf, apex acuminate to acute. |
Inflorescences | 2.5–6 × 1–2.5 cm; bracts greenish to pale yellow-green or very pale, dull purplish throughout, lanceolate to oblong, (0–)3(–5)-lobed; lobes usually ascending, linear, medium length to long, arising near mid length, apex acute. |
2–11 × 1–2.5 cm; bracts greenish or pale yellow, rarely purplish or deep red, often with dull purplish veins on proximal bracts, or proximally greenish or pale yellow, distally whitish, yellow, or orange-yellow, proximal sometimes linear-lanceolate, distal broadly lanceolate to oblong or obovate, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed; lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, short to medium length, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal obtuse, rounded, or truncate. |
Corollas | straight, 18–25 mm; tube 3.5–5.5 mm; subequal to calyx, or beak and sometimes abaxial lip exserted; beak adaxially yellow, 6–8 mm, hairs moderately long, matted on midline, very short-glandular on sides; abaxial lip green, inconspicuous, slightly pouched, 3.5–5.5 mm, 60–90% as long as beak; teeth erect, white or yellow, 0.5–3 mm. |
slightly curved, 10–22 mm; tube 8–14 mm; teeth of abaxial lip sometimes slightly exserted, beak exserted or subequal; beak adaxially green to pale yellow, 5–8 mm; abaxial lip deep yellow or green, reduced, forming a small pouch visible through front cleft, 3–5 mm, 50–75% as long as beak; teeth ascending to erect, white or yellow, 1 mm. |
Calyces | yellow, color mostly obscured by whitish hairs, 15–22 mm; abaxial, adaxial, and lateral clefts (5.5–)7–12 mm, 35–55% of calyx length, often appearing shorter because matted hairs stitch proximal part of clefts shut, all 4 clefts subequal; lobes broadly linear, apex acute. |
colored as bracts, proximally often paler, usually yellow throughout, 10–20 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 7–14 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0.5–1.5 mm, 5–15% of calyx length; lobes triangular, apex acute to rounded. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Castilleja nivea |
Castilleja hyperborea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering May–Aug(–Sep). |
Habitat | Gravelly slopes and flats, turf and fellfields, mostly alpine. | Dry to mesic rocky tundra, slopes, ridges, barrens and meadows, openings in boreal forests, arctic to alpine. |
Elevation | 1700–3600 m. (5600–11800 ft.) | 0–2200 m. (0–7200 ft.) |
Distribution |
MT; WY
|
AK; BC; NT; YT; e Asia (Russian Far East) |
Discussion | Castilleja nivea is endemic to alpine habitats in the mountains of northwestern Wyoming and adjacent Montana. It forms occasional hybrids with C. pulchella, which often shares its habitat, as on the Beartooth Plateau in northwestern Wyoming. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja hyperborea is widespread across boreal, alpine, and arctic habitats in western Canada and Alaska, extending into the Russian Far East. A rare form with light purple bracts was named as C. kuschei. Another form with particularly long hairs found in the Kluane Lake region of the southern Yukon was described as C. villosissima and is usually found on calcareous substrates. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 634. | FNA vol. 17, p. 614. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. kuschei, C. villosissima | |
Name authority | Pennell & Ownbey: Notul. Nat. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 227: 2. (1950) | Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 86: 532. (1934) |
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