Castilleja pruinosa
Castilleja unalaschcensis
frosted Indian paintbrush, frosted paintbrush, pruinose paintbrush
Alaska Indian paintbrush, coastal paintbrush, unalaska 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.
few to many, erect to ascending, unbranched or branched distally, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs sparse, spreading to erect, long, soft, eglandular, rarely stipitate-glandular.
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.
green, sometimes red-purplish, lanceolate-linear to lanceolate, elliptic-ovate, or ovate, (1.2–)3.5–10 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to slightly involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;
lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate.
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.
3.5–18 × 2–6.5 cm;
bracts proximally green, distally yellow, pale yellow, whitish, yellow-green, or pale orange, often aging reddish or pink, lanceolate, elliptic, ovate, oblanceolate, or oblong to narrowly obovate, (0–)3–5-lobed;
lobes ascending, linear to oblong, short, arising above mid length, apex acute to obtuse.
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.
straight or slightly curved, 18–28 mm;
tube 16–19 mm;
beak partially to completely exserted, abaxial lip not exserted;
beak adaxially green, 6–13 mm;
abaxial lip deep green, reduced, inconspicuous, 1–2 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, deep green or white, 0.5–1 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, 15–28 mm;
abaxial cleft 12–16 mm, adaxial 8–11.5 mm, clefts 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 4–10 mm, 20–35% of calyx length;
lobes oblong to lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded.
= 48.
= ca. 96.
Castilleja pruinosa
Castilleja unalaschcensis
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 unalaschcensis is a characteristic meadow species across much of the southern Alaskan coast, including the Aleutian Islands, as well as on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and the mainland of western British Columbia and southern Yukon. It is common in the coastal littoral zone and ascends to lower alpine meadow communities. Morphologically, it appears to be a sister species to C. septentrionalis of the Rocky Mountains and boreal sites in eastern North America. A weakly differentiated interior form was described as subsp. transnivalis Pennell.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
