Castilleja occidentalis |
Castilleja purpurea |
|
---|---|---|
western Indian paintbrush, western or western yellow paintbrush, western paintbrush |
downy Indian paintbrush, prairie paintbrush, purplish paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.7–2(–3) dm; from a small, woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 1.5–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | several to many, erect or ascending, usually short-decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes glabrous proximally, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with medium length to short stipitate-glandular ones only in inflorescence. |
few to many, erect to ascending, branched, sometimes unbranched, hairs fairly dense, spreading to appressed, white, fairly short, soft, ± felty, eglandular, sometimes mixed sparsely with short stipitate-glandular ones, sometimes obscuring surface. |
Leaves | green to deep purple, linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate (to linear on sterile shoots), 1.5–4(–5.5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, prominently veined, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to rounded; lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex acute. |
green to purple, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 2–7(–9) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes slightly wavy, involute, 3–7-lobed, apex narrowly acute to rounded; lobes spreading, linear, apex obtuse or acute. |
Inflorescences | 2–7(–10) × 1–3.5 cm; bracts greenish to pale greenish yellow throughout, often aging dull reddish brown or reddish purple proximally, rarely dull reddish brown throughout, or proximally green, dull reddish brown, or reddish purple, distally greenish white, yellow, or cream, broadly lanceolate to widely oblong to ovate, 0–3(–7)-lobed; lobes ascending, triangular to lanceolate, medium length, usually arising at or above mid length, rarely just below, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, others acute. |
2.6–16 × 2–4 cm; bracts proximally greenish to deep greenish purple, distally purple, magenta, reddish, pink, or rose, rarely white, cream, light yellow, or dull orangish, proximal linear to lanceolate, distal oblong, 3–7(–9)-lobed; lobes spreading to ascending, linear to oblanceolate, long, arising from distal 2/3, center lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute to rounded. |
Corollas | straight, 16–25 mm; tube 9–15 mm; teeth and part of abaxial lip sometimes exserted, beak exserted; beak adaxially green, (2.5–)5–9 mm; abaxial lip green, reduced, often visible through abaxial cleft, slightly pouched, 1.5–3 mm, 25–50% as long as beak; teeth incurved to ascending, white, sometimes green, 0.7–2 mm. |
slightly curved, 25–40 mm; tube 16–22 mm; beak exserted, adaxially green, 9–18 mm; abaxial lip green to purple-red, reduced, not strongly pouched, ± protruding, 4–5 mm, 33–50% as long as beak; teeth prominent, petaloid, spreading to erect, colored as in distal portion of bracts, 3–4 mm. |
Calyces | proximally green to purple, distally colored as bracts, 12–20 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9(–10) mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–3(–4.5) mm, 5–20% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to triangular, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded. |
colored as bracts, (20–)25–34 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts (10–)13–22 mm, 50–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 7–16 mm, 35–45% of calyx length; lobes broadly linear to long-triangular or oblong, apex acute to obtuse. |
2n | = 24, 48. |
|
Castilleja occidentalis |
Castilleja purpurea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Meadows, gravel slopes, talus, ridges, mostly upper subalpine to alpine. | Rocky slopes, ledges, prairies, woodlands, thickets, roadsides, often sandy or limy soils. |
Elevation | 1500–4300 m. (4900–14100 ft.) | 200–600 m. (700–2000 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; MT; NM; UT; AB; BC
|
KS; MO; OK; TX
|
Discussion | Castilleja occidentalis has a wide distribution in the southern Rocky Mountains, a gap in its distribution in Wyoming, and reappears in Montana and the Canadian Rockies. Bract lobing and color vary considerably but without correlation to geography. Although C. occidentalis resembles an alpine form of C. septentrionalis, C. occidentalis is missing in several regions in the distribution of the latter, even when extensive areas of suitable habitat are available, and has a discrete range. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja purpurea is a common species of eastern Oklahoma and central Texas, with a few records from adjacent southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri. It often provides beautiful, multicolored displays in the meadows within its range. Castilleja citrina and C. lindheimeri are closely related species sometimes regarded as varieties of C. purpurea. Hybrids and hybrid swarms between C. indivisa and C. purpurea have been observed at some localities where they are sympatric. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 635. | FNA vol. 17, p. 649. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Euchroma purpurea, C. williamsii | |
Name authority | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 230. (1827) | (Nuttall) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 4: 615. 1837/1838 |
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