Castilleja rhexiifolia |
Castilleja viscidula |
|
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alpine paintbrush, rhexia-leaf paintbrush, Rocky Mountain paintbrush, rosy paintbrush, split-leaf Indian paintbrush |
sticky Indian paintbrush, sticky paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, (1–)2.5–6(–8) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–3(–4) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | few to several, erect or ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, proximally glabrous to glabrate, distally sparsely hairy, hairs spreading, ± long, soft, eglandular, sometimes stipitate-glandular. |
several, ascending to erect, decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones. |
Leaves | 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 to brown, linear, linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, or oblong (narrowly ovate nearing inflorescence), 1–4(–5) cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, flat or involute, (0–)2(–5)-lobed, apex acute; lobes ascending-spreading, oblong to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute or obtuse. |
Inflorescences | 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. |
2–14 × 1–3.5 cm; bracts proximally greenish to greenish brown, distally pale yellow, cream, or yellow-green, sometimes yellow-orange or red (sometimes gradually differentiated from proximal coloration), lanceolate, broadly lanceolate, or oblong, 3(–5)-lobed, proximal wavy-margined; lobes ascending, linear to narrowly lanceolate, long, arising near or above mid length, sometimes wavy-margined, apex acute to rounded. |
Corollas | 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, 16–22(–25) mm; tube 10–15 mm; beak exserted, straight to sometimes curved, adaxially green to yellow, 5–8(–9) mm; abaxial lip green or yellow, sometimes deep purple, reduced, inconspicuous, often visible in abaxial cleft, 1–2 mm, 20% as long as beak; teeth erect, green to white, sometimes yellow or pink, 0.5–1 mm. |
Calyces | 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 or proximally paler, (10–)14–18 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts (4–)5–9 mm, 30–40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)2–6 mm, ca. 25% of calyx length; lobes narrowly ovate to lanceolate, linear, or narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse. |
2n | = 24, 48, 96. |
= 24, 72. |
Castilleja rhexiifolia |
Castilleja viscidula |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Mar–)May–Sep. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Moist meadows, open forests, slopes and ridges, sun or shade, subalpine to alpine. | Dry to mesic sagebrush steppes, rocky slopes, ledges, open woodlands, montane to subalpine. |
Elevation | 1800–4000 m. (5900–13100 ft.) | 2000–3200 m. (6600–10500 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
|
ID; NV; OR
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Discussion | 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 viscidula is a member of the complex including C. applegatei and C. martini, centered in California. Castilleja viscidula favors isolated mountain ranges, from the Wallowa and, possibly, the Blue mountains of northeastern Oregon, eastward into southwestern Idaho, and southward into central Nevada. Most populations are greenish yellow, but in one portion of the Wallowa Mountains, reddish bracted plants are common. Many yellowish bracted populations in the same mountain range surround this reddish population. Intermediate color forms are rarely encountered. Most ranges where C. viscidula occurs have generated slightly differing local races, demonstrating some reproductive isolation and divergence. In addition, hybrid swarms between this species and C. nana are known from several mountain ranges in central and northern Nevada, and an apparent hybrid with C. flava var. flava is known from the Independence Mountains of northern Nevada. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 651. | FNA vol. 17, p. 664. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. oregonensis | |
Name authority | Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 356. (1900) — (as rhexifolia) | A. Gray: in A. Gray et al., Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 2(1): 297. (1878) — (as Castilleia) |
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