Castilleja nivea |
Castilleja pallescens |
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snow Indian paintbrush, snow paintbrush, snowy paintbrush |
dwarf pale paintbrush, pale Indian paintbrush, pale paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.6 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, 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 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 | 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. |
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 | 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. |
(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, 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. |
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 | 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, 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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2n | = 24. |
= 24, 48. |
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Castilleja nivea |
Castilleja pallescens |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Gravelly slopes and flats, turf and fellfields, mostly alpine. | |||||
Elevation | 1700–3600 m. (5600–11800 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
MT; WY
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ID; MT; NV; OR; WY
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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.) |
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. 634. | FNA vol. 17, p. 637. | ||||
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Orthocarpus pallescens | |||||
Name authority | Pennell & Ownbey: Notul. Nat. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 227: 2. (1950) | (A. Gray) Greenman: Bot. Gaz. 25: 266. (1898) — (as Castilleia) | ||||
Web links |