Castilleja nivea
Castilleja tomentosa
snow Indian paintbrush, snow paintbrush, snowy paintbrush
hairy Indian paintbrush, tomentose paintbrush
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, ascending to erect, unbranched or branched, with short, leafy axillary shoots, moderately lanate, hairs prostrate to spreading, whitish, unbranched, short, fairly soft, eglandular.
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, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (0.8–)3–5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, strongly involute, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to rounded;
lobes spreading, linear, short, apex acute.
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.
5–20 × 0.5–2.5 cm;
bracts proximally dull brownish to deep greenish purple, distally red, red-orange, or orange, lanceolate or oblong to obovate, deeply 3(–5)-lobed;
lobes ascending, linear to lanceolate, long, arising below mid length, central lobe apex rounded to obtuse, others acute.
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 or slightly curved, 12–20 mm;
tube 13–15 mm;
beak exserted or ± equal to calyx, adaxially pale green, 8–11.5 mm;
abaxial lip green or red-violet, inconspicuous, slightly pouched, 1.5–2 mm, ca. 10–20% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, pink to pale yellow or deep green, 1 mm.
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, (10–)13–19 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–8(–11) mm, 33–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 5–7 mm, ca. 25% of calyx length;
lobes linear to lanceolate, apex acute.
= 24.
Castilleja nivea
Castilleja tomentosa
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.)
In the United States, Castilleja tomentosa is known from a number of recently discovered populations in and near the southern Animas Valley, Hidalgo County, where it is found in Bouteloua gracilis and Sporobolus airoides grasslands. All known populations are small, and this species should be considered globally endangered. The only recorded Mexican station was the type locality from 1851 near Mabibi in adjacent northern Sonora. A. Eastwood (1909) believed C. tomentosa was a synonym of C. integra, but that species has mostly entire bracts, while the bracts of C. tomentosa are deeply lobed; the two also have different patterns of coloration and pubescence. T. I. Chuang annotated the holotype sheet of C. tomentosa as C. lanata, but C. tomentosa calyces have fairly deep lateral lobes, unlike the emarginate to very shallowly notched lobes of C. lanata.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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