Castilleja peirsonii |
Castilleja cinerea |
|
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Peirson's paintbrush |
ash-gray Indian paintbrush, ash-gray paintbrush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.6–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–3 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | few to several, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs dense distally, less so proximally, spreading, long, soft, eglandular, also mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones distally. |
several to many, erect to ascending, or decumbent, inflorescence erect in high-elevation form, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs dense, spreading, ashy gray, short and long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones. |
Leaves | green to purple, narrowly to broadly lanceolate to oblong, (0.7–)1.5–4.2(–5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute, (0–)3(–5)-lobed, apex acuminate; lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate to linear, apex acute. |
green, brown, purple, or deep gray, linear or narrowly to broadly lanceolate to sometimes ovate, 0.7–3 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, slightly involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate; lobes ascending to spreading, linear to lanceolate, apex acuminate. |
Inflorescences | 2.5–7.5(–15) × 1.5–3 cm; bracts proximally greenish to dull reddish, distally bright red, orange, or pale orange, sometimes yellowish or dull red, broadly lanceolate to oblong, 3–5-lobed; lobes ascending, linear to lanceolate, ± long, arising above mid length, sometimes below mid length on proximal bracts, central lobe apex acute, rarely narrowly obtuse, lateral ones acute. |
1–8.5 × 2–5 cm; bracts proximally greenish or deep reddish purple, distally burnt orange, sometimes yellow or deep red to deep burgundy, proximal sometimes lanceolate with narrow lobes, distal or all bracts broadly lanceolate to oblong or slightly oblanceolate, (0–)3–5-lobed, appearing dusty with dense, short stipitate-glandular hairs, many with a nodulose to pillarlike, crystallized, usually pigmented exudate, papillose at 40x; lobes ascending-spreading, oblong or oblanceolate, short, arising above mid length, central lobe apex rounded, often expanded, rounded, or truncate, lateral ones acute to rounded. |
Corollas | slightly curved, 15–28 mm; tube 13–15 mm; beak exserted, adaxially yellow or yellow-green, 7–8 mm; abaxial lip yellow or deep green, reduced, slightly inflated, pouched, protruding out abaxial cleft, 1–2.5 mm, 13–33% as long as beak; teeth erect or curved, yellow or green, 0.7–1 mm. |
straight, 12–18 mm; tube 9–14 mm; beak included or tip just barely exserted, adaxially green or pale yellow to deep burgundy, 3–5 mm; abaxial lip green, burgundy, or reddish purple (in high-elevation form), little inflated, small, included, 2 mm, to 20% as long as beak; teeth incurved, green, 0.2–0.5 mm. |
Calyces | proximally light green or yellow, distally yellow or colored as bracts, 12–20 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1.5–)3–5.8 mm, 10–30% of calyx length; lobes oblong, apex acute to obtuse. |
colored as bracts, sometimes whitish proximally, 1.5–20 mm (shorter in upper elevation form); abaxial and adaxial clefts 3.5–8 mm, 30–50% of calyx length, all 4 clefts subequal; lobes linear to narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, apex obtuse to rounded, densely stipitate-glandular. |
2n | = 24. |
|
Castilleja peirsonii |
Castilleja cinerea |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering May–Aug(–Oct). |
Habitat | Moist to wet meadows, stream banks, lakeshores, montane to alpine. | Dry rocky slopes, ridges, and flats, pebble plains, sagebrush openings, open conifer forests. |
Elevation | 1700–3400 m. (5600–11200 ft.) | 1800–3100 m. (5900–10200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; NV
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CA
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Discussion | Castilleja peirsonii is endemic to the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada of California and in Tahoe Meadows in adjacent Washoe County, Nevada. Plants with yellow bracts in the southern portion of the range were named C. carterae. Castilleja peirsonii has shorter, wider corolla beaks than the related C. parviflora. In addition to the corolla shape differences, C. peirsonii also has red to yellow bracts and fairly bright yellow corollas, especially on the beaks, while C. parviflora has purple, pink, or white bracts and greenish corolla tubes and dorsal beak surfaces, with the beak margins pink, purple, or white. Reports from outside the Sierra Nevada in California and immediately adjacent Nevada are misidentifications. Castilleja peirsonii sometimes hybridizes with C. lemmonii in meadows where both species often occur in large numbers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Castilleja cinerea is endemic to the higher elevations of the San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County. Most plants are upright to ascending and have yellow to yellow-orange inflorescences, with occasional plants ranging to dull red, especially with age. On Sugarloaf Mountain, mostly above 2700 m, is a distinctive form with consistently reddish purple to burgundy inflorescences and a strongly decumbent growth form. Castilleja cinerea is most often associated with and likely parasitic on Artemisia nova and Eriogonum species. Castilleja cinerea is known from few populations and is threatened by livestock grazing, development, and vehicle use. It is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of the United States. The crystalline exudate associated with the stipitate-glandular pubescence of the distal portion of the bracts is unique in the genus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 644. | FNA vol. 17, p. 597. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. carterae | Orthocarpus cinereus |
Name authority | Eastwood: Leafl. W. Bot. 1: 175. (1935) — (as peirsoni) | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 19: 93. (1883) — (as Castilleia) |
Web links |