Castilleja pruinosa
Castilleja hololeuca
frosted Indian paintbrush, frosted paintbrush, pruinose paintbrush
Channel Islands paintbrush, island paintbrush, island white-felted paintbrush, white-felted paintbrush
several to many, erect or ascending, branched or unbranched, sometimes with inconspicuous, short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs ± dense, spreading to appressed, whitish or ashy gray, long, soft, much-branched, rarely unbranched, eglandular or obscurely glandular.
many, erect to spreading, much-branched with many short axillary shoots, proximal stems reaching 1+ cm wide, white-felted, hairs dense, spreading to ± appressed, intertwined, long, soft, slightly branched, obscuring surface.
green, linear-lanceolate to narrowly or broadly lanceolate, 2–8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane to sometimes wavy, flat or involute, 0-lobed, sometimes 3–5-lobed distally, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes acute;
lobes sometimes divergent, ascending-spreading, linear, apex acute.
ash gray, leaves of previous year persisting on proximal stem, linear, older leaves sometimes broadly linear, 1–5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0-lobed, apex obtuse;
lobes ascending, linear-lanceolate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes acute.
3–20 × 1.5–4 cm;
bracts proximally greenish, distally abruptly red, sometimes yellow, salmon, or orange-red, often with a narrow yellow medial band, lanceolate, broadly lanceolate, or oblong, 0–5-lobed;
lobes spreading to ascending, linear, long, arising near mid length, apex obtuse to acute.
3–16 × 2–4 cm;
bracts pale gray-green throughout, or proximally pale gray-green, distally red or yellow, proximal linear, distal broader, often oblanceolate to obovate, (0–)3-lobed;
lobes spreading, linear to oblong, short to long, arising below mid length, apex rounded to truncate or acute.
slightly curved, 20–51 mm;
tube 12–21 mm;
beak long-exserted, adaxially green, yellow, or red, 12–33 mm;
abaxial lip deep green, reduced, 1–2.5 mm, ca. 10% as long as beak;
teeth incurved to erect, white, yellow, or green, 0.5–2 mm.
slightly curved in proximal 1/3, 14–26(–31) mm;
tube 9–17 mm;
abaxial lip not exserted, beak exserted;
beak adaxially green to yellowish, 11–14 mm;
abaxial lip ascending, deep green, reduced, 2–3 mm, less than 33% as long as beak;
teeth reduced to apiculations, deep green, 1–1.5 mm.
proximally green to yellow, distally and abruptly colored as in distal bracts, often with a central yellow band, 13–28 mm;
abaxial clefts 5–13 mm, adaxial 8–14 mm, clefts 33–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 3–9 mm, 20–25% of calyx length;
lobes lanceolate to triangular, apex acute to acuminate.
colored as bracts, with conspicuous whitish veins, 14–18(–20) mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–12 mm, 30–67% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0 mm or nearly so, ca. 0% of calyx length;
lobes linear-lanceolate, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate.
= 48.
Castilleja pruinosa
Castilleja hololeuca
Castilleja pruinosa is a common and variable paintbrush at moderate elevations in the southern half of the Cascade Range, occurring westward in Oregon and in adjacent northwestern California. It is also found in the northern Sierra Nevada. The often dense pubescence of branched hairs distinguishes it from other similar species within its range. Castilleja gleasoni was sometimes included within C. pruinosa, but C. gleasoni is likely of hybrid origin and occurs only in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. There are significant morphological differences between C. gleasoni and C. pruinosa. Castilleja pruinosa forms occasional hybrids with C. applegatei var. pinetorum and with C. brevilobata. In some populations in Douglas and eastern Lane counties, Oregon, C. pruinosa forms introgressive swarms with C. hispida var. hispida.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Castilleja hololeuca is endemic to the four major islands of the northern Channel Islands. It is similar to C. lanata, a mostly Mexican species that reaches Arizona, New Mexico, and southwest Texas. However, C. hololeuca appears to be more closely related to C. foliolosa, a species of the California mainland. These three species, and C. galehintoniae G. L. Nesom of Nuevo León, all share a distinctive, thick indument of pale, matted, and often branched hairs on the stems and leaves. Large individuals of C. hololeuca form thick, woody trunks. On Anacapa Island, closest to the mainland, red-flowered forms of C. hololeuca predominate. On Santa Cruz Island, to the west, both red- and yellow-bracted forms are fairly common, usually in separate populations. Further offshore, on San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands, most plants are yellow to, occasionally, peach in coloration. Reports of this species from Santa Barbara and Santa Catalina Islands are referable to other species, mostly C. foliolosa. Populations of C. hololeuca historically declined from grazing by introduced game and livestock species. The plants are recovering well, following removal of the grazing animals, and are now common in many areas, especially on San Miguel Island.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
