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little reddish Indian paintbrush, purple alpine paintbrush, purple paintbrush, Wallowa alpine paintbrush

castilleja exserta, escobita, exserted Indian paintbrush, owl's clover, purple owl's-clover, purple painted-cup

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, annual, 0.1–4.5 dm; with fibrous roots.
Stems

several, decumbent, or ascending, unbranched, hairs moderately dense, spreading, short and long, soft, eglandular and glandular.

solitary, erect to ascending, unbranched or diffusely branched from near base, hairs spreading, medium length and long, stiff, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

Leaves

green to purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0.7–3.2 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, slightly involute, 3–5-lobed, apex narrowly acute to acuminate;

lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly linear to filiform, often curling, often short, apex acute or obtuse.

green, sometimes purple to brownish, linear or ovate to orbicular in outline, (0.8–)1–5(–7.7) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, (0–)3–9(–11)-lobed, sometimes with secondary lobing, apex acuminate to rounded or acute;

lobes spreading, filiform or linear to narrowly spatulate, apex acute to acuminate or rounded.

Inflorescences

2.5–6 × 1–2 cm;

bracts purple, deep burgundy, or lavender throughout, rarely pink or yellowish white throughout, sometimes pink or dull whitish on distal margins and apices, oblong, 3–5(–7)-lobed;

lobes spreading, linear, medium length, proximal lobes arising below mid length, center lobe apex rounded to obtuse, lateral ones acute to obtuse.

1.5–20 × 2–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, dark purple, brownish purple, or white, distally pink, lavender, magenta, light purple, or white on lobe apices, lanceolate to elliptic or narrowly ovate, (3–)5(–9)-lobed, often with 2–4 secondary lobes;

lobes ascending to spreading, linear to filiform or narrowly spatulate, medium length to long, arising below or above mid length, apex rounded to acute.

Corollas

straight, 12–15 mm;

tube 14–16 mm;

abaxial lip and beak exserted;

beak adaxially green, 5–6 mm;

abaxial lip colored as distal portion of bracts, prominent, pouches 3, central one grooved, pouches not strongly inflated, 4–5 mm, 80–100% as long as beak;

teeth erect, appressed to beak, colored as distal portions of bracts, 1.5–2.5 mm.

straight, 12–33 mm;

tube 7–20 mm;

beak slightly exserted, hooked near apex, adaxially pink-purple to magenta, rarely white, 5–13 mm, margins colored as bracts, densely villous-hairy;

abaxial lip proximally pink, purple, or magenta, rarely yellow or white, with maroon or deep purple distal to that and white to yellow or pink distally, often with purple spots, distal pale color often aging deep pink or deep red, strongly inflated, pouches 3, 3–8 mm wide, 3–4 mm deep, 3–9 mm, 67–80% as long as beak;

teeth erect, white, yellow, or purple, often with purple or maroon spots, 0.5–2 mm.

Calyces

colored as bracts, 10–12 mm; all 4 clefts subequal, 3.5–6.5 mm, 35–55% of calyx length;

lobes broadly linear or linear-triangular, apex obtuse to acute.

colored as bracts, 10–26 mm;

abaxial clefts 4–12 mm, adaxial 9–18 mm, abaxial ca. 50% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 67% of calyx length, at least adaxial deeper than others, lateral 2.5–9 mm, 15–45% of calyx length;

lobes linear (to narrowly oblanceolate), apex rounded to acute.

Stigmas

green.

Filaments

with spreading, long, soft hairs.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja rubida

Castilleja exserta

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Rocky slopes, ledges, dry to moist gravelly flats and ridges, alpine, limestone, rarely on river cobbles at lower elevations.
Elevation 2200–3000 m. (7200–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja rubida is a rare alpine species endemic to a few limestone peaks in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon, entirely within the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. It is likely derived from the C. nana complex, found in the mountains of eastern California and Nevada, but it is amply distinct. Due to its very limited range and small population numbers, C. rubida is a species of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

In addition to the characters in the key, Castilleja exserta is distinguished from the similar C. densiflora by its conspicuously hairy and apically hooked beak. As a result, the capitate stigma is exserted more or less horizontally from the corolla beak. In contrast, C. densiflora has an unhooked, inconspicuously puberulent beak, from which the stigma emerges more vertically. Castilleja exserta hybridizes with C. attenuata in southern California and with C. lineariloba in central California, and it reportedly crosses occasionally with C. densiflora in southern California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Abaxial lips of corollas deep red-purple proximally, with distal 1/4 bright yellow to yellow-orange, becoming orange or red after anthesis; w Mojave Desert, California.
var. venusta
1. Abaxial lips of corollas variably colored, proximally pink to deep red-purple or white, with distal 1/4–1/3 white, yellow, or yellow-orange; widespread in Arizona and California, rare in New Mexico or limited to the coastal regions of California.
→ 2
2. Bracts usually less than 5 mm wide, lobes filiform to linear; inland and near-coastal grasslands and meadows; Arizona, w California, sw New Mexico.
var. exserta
2. Bracts 5–7 mm wide, lobes linear to narrowly spatulate; coastal dunes and bluffs; California.
var. latifolia
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 653. FNA vol. 17, p. 606.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Castilleja Orobanchaceae > Castilleja
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, C. attenuata, C. brevilobata, C. brevistyla, C. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, C. chromosa, C. chrymactis, C. chrysantha, C. cinerea, C. citrina, C. coccinea, C. collegiorum, C. covilleana, C. crista-galli, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. densiflora, C. dissitiflora, C. disticha, C. elata, C. elegans, C. elmeri, C. exserta, C. flava, C. foliolosa, C. fraterna, C. genevieveana, C. glandulifera, C. gleasoni, C. gracillima, C. grisea, C. haydenii, C. hispida, C. hololeuca, C. hyperborea, C. indivisa, C. integra, C. kaibabensis, C. kerryana, C. kraliana, C. lacera, C. lanata, C. lasiorhyncha, C. lassenensis, C. latifolia, C. lemmonii, C. leschkeana, C. levisecta, C. linariifolia, C. lindheimeri, C. lineariloba, C. lineata, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. martini, C. mendocinensis, C. mexicana, C. miniata, C. minor, C. mogollonica, C. mollis, C. montigena, C. nana, C. nelsonii, C. nervata, C. nivea, C. occidentalis, C. oresbia, C. organorum, C. ornata, C. pallescens, C. pallida, C. parviflora, C. parvula, C. patriotica, C. peckiana, C. peirsonii, C. pilosa, C. plagiotoma, C. praeterita, C. pruinosa, C. puberula, C. pulchella, C. purpurascens, C. purpurea, C. raupii, C. revealii, C. rhexiifolia, C. rigida, C. rubicundula, C. rupicola, C. salsuginosa, C. scabrida, C. schizotricha, C. septentrionalis, C. sessiliflora, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuiflora, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. tomentosa, C. uliginosa, C. unalaschcensis, C. victoriae, C. viscidula, C. wightii, C. wootonii, C. xanthotricha
C. affinis, C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, C. attenuata, C. brevilobata, C. brevistyla, C. campestris, C. cervina, C. chambersii, C. chlorotica, C. christii, C. chromosa, C. chrymactis, C. chrysantha, C. cinerea, C. citrina, C. coccinea, C. collegiorum, C. covilleana, C. crista-galli, C. cryptantha, C. cusickii, C. densiflora, C. dissitiflora, C. disticha, C. elata, C. elegans, C. elmeri, C. flava, C. foliolosa, C. fraterna, C. genevieveana, C. glandulifera, C. gleasoni, C. gracillima, C. grisea, C. haydenii, C. hispida, C. hololeuca, C. hyperborea, C. indivisa, C. integra, C. kaibabensis, C. kerryana, C. kraliana, C. lacera, C. lanata, C. lasiorhyncha, C. lassenensis, C. latifolia, C. lemmonii, C. leschkeana, C. levisecta, C. linariifolia, C. lindheimeri, C. lineariloba, C. lineata, C. litoralis, C. lutescens, C. martini, C. mendocinensis, C. mexicana, C. miniata, C. minor, C. mogollonica, C. mollis, C. montigena, C. nana, C. nelsonii, C. nervata, C. nivea, C. occidentalis, C. oresbia, C. organorum, C. ornata, C. pallescens, C. pallida, C. parviflora, C. parvula, C. patriotica, C. peckiana, C. peirsonii, C. pilosa, C. plagiotoma, C. praeterita, C. pruinosa, C. puberula, C. pulchella, C. purpurascens, C. purpurea, C. raupii, C. revealii, C. rhexiifolia, C. rigida, C. rubicundula, C. rubida, C. rupicola, C. salsuginosa, C. scabrida, C. schizotricha, C. septentrionalis, C. sessiliflora, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuiflora, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. tomentosa, C. uliginosa, C. unalaschcensis, C. victoriae, C. viscidula, C. wightii, C. wootonii, C. xanthotricha
Subordinate taxa
C. exserta var. exserta, C. exserta var. latifolia, C. exserta var. venusta
Synonyms Orthocarpus exsertus
Name authority Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 27: 398. (1900) — (as Castilleia) (A. Heller) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. 16: 657. (1991)
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