Castilleja rhexiifolia
Castilleja lutescens
alpine paintbrush, rhexia-leaf paintbrush, Rocky Mountain paintbrush, rosy paintbrush, split-leaf Indian paintbrush
stiff yellow Indian paintbrush, stiff yellow paintbrush, yellow paintbrush, yellowish paintbrush
few to several, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, proximally glabrous to glabrate, distally sparsely hairy, hairs spreading, ± long, soft, eglandular, sometimes stipitate-glandular.
few to several, erect or ascending, sometimes decumbent at base, unbranched or branched, hairs spreading to retrorse, short, scabrid below inflorescence, sometimes becoming medium length to long, soft to stiff, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones in inflorescence.
green or purple-tinged, linear, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, oblong, or ovate, 3–6(–7) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to slightly involute, prominently veined, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acute to rarely obtuse;
lobes ascending or spreading, linear to filiform, much smaller than mid blade, short, apex acute.
green, sometimes purplish, linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 1–8.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat or involute lengthwise, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute;
lobes ascending, linear, central one sometimes shallowly toothed, apex acute to obtuse.
2.5–15 × 1.5–4.5 cm;
bracts pink-purple, red-purple, purple, or crimson throughout, rarely reddish, yellowish, or white throughout, or proximally greenish, dull brownish purple, or deep purple, distally colored as above, broadly lanceolate to ovate or obovate, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed;
lobes ascending to erect, linear or lanceolate-acuminate, short, arising near or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to broadly rounded, lateral ones acute to sometimes rounded.
3–14 × 1.5–3 cm;
bracts greenish throughout, or proximally greenish, distally pale to bright yellow or whitish, rarely pale orangish, lanceolate to oblong, (0–)3–7-lobed;
lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, medium length, arising at or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, lateral ones acute.
straight, 15–30(–36) mm;
tube (11–)12–22(–24) mm;
beak exserted, adaxially green, yellow, or tinged with red, 7–12 mm;
abaxial lip deep green, reduced, 1.5–3.5 mm, to 33% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, green or white, 0.5–2 mm.
straight or slightly curved, 21–27 mm;
tube 14–16 mm;
beak partly exserted, adaxially green, 7–12 mm;
abaxial lip ascending, green, reduced, 2–4 mm, 25–50% as long as beak;
teeth erect or incurved, sometimes spreading, green or white, 0.7–2.5 mm.
proximally green, purplish, or whitish, distally colored as bracts, 15–25 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 8–12(–15) mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–5(–8) mm, 15–25(–30)% of calyx length;
lobes oblong to triangular or ovate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes acute.
colored as bracts, 15–25 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–13 mm, 50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–7 mm, 15% of calyx length;
lobes narrowly triangular to linear, apex acute.
= 24, 48, 96.
= 48, 96.
Castilleja rhexiifolia
Castilleja lutescens
Castilleja rhexiifolia is a characteristic and common paintbrush in the Rocky Mountains region, from central Alberta to northern New Mexico. Disjunct populations also occur in northeastern Oregon, in the Blue, Ochoco, and Wallowa mountains, as well as near the summit of Abercrombie Mountain in the Selkirk Mountains of northeastern Washington. The inflorescence colors are variable. Typical plants are red-purple. However, many other shades of pink-white, pink-purple, and crimson are common as well. Many populations contain a wide range of color variants. Intergradation is occasionally seen with C. miniata, C. occidentalis, and C. septentrionalis. However, for the most part, these four species remain distinct, and their ranges are not entirely overlapping. In the Wallowa Mountains, a recurrent and variable hybrid form between C. chrysantha and C. rhexiifolia was described as C. wallowensis Pennell. In the north Cascade Range of Washington, plants of C. elmeri with crimson inflorescences are sometimes identified as C. rhexiifolia. In Glacier National Park, Montana, in the vicinity of Logan Pass, C. rhexiifolia frequently hybridizes with C. occidentalis, creating a number of hybrid morphologies. Both of the parents are common in the area. Similar hybrids are also found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Castilleja lutescens is found east of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington and ranges east to western Montana and the adjacent interior of western Canada. Its inflorescences vary in color from entirely greenish to white or yellowish, and the stature of the plants is also variable, trending from moderate and compact in grasslands to taller in more forested situations. In the Blue Mountains of Garfield County, Washington, occasional hybrids form between C. lutescens and C. hispida var. acuta, which often both occur in the same vicinity.
L. R. Heckard (1968) reported a chromosome count of ca. 2n = 120 from a population in Montana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database
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