Flora of North America species comparison

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Castilleja rubida

Castilleja mollis

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

soft leaf Indian paintbrush, soft-leaf paintbrush
Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 3–4 dm; from a woody caudex; with woody roots.
Stems

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

few to several, ± prostrate, sometimes ascending, much-branched, with dense, matlike growth form, often with short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs dense, tangled, short to long, fairly stiff, branched, sometimes glandular, white-woolly.
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 to deep purple, narrowly elliptic to oblong, ovate, or obovate, 1–3 cm, ± fleshy, margins plane or ± wavy, flat, 0-lobed, apex rounded, rarely acute.
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.

usually erect, 2.5–8 × 1.5–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally pale to bright yellow, sometimes brownish orange, sometimes with brownish orange medial band, oblong, elliptic, or obovate, ± cup-shaped, ± fleshy, 0–3-lobed;

lobes erect, oblong, short, arising near tip, central lobe apex rounded to truncate, sometimes crenate or with obtuse teeth, lateral ones obtuse.
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, 17–26 mm;

tube 12–13 mm;

beak often slightly exserted, adaxially green to yellow-green, 11–13 mm;

abaxial lip green, reduced, 1.5–3.5 mm, 10–20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, reduced, green, 0.5–1 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, lacking orange central band, 16–23 mm;

abaxial clefts 9.5–14 mm, adaxial 8 mm, abaxial 50–67% of calyx length, adaxial 35–45% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 4.5–5 mm, 20–25% of calyx length;

lobes oblong to triangular, abaxials sometimes wider than adaxials, apex acute to rounded, inner surface glabrous.
Stigmas

green.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja rubida

Castilleja mollis
Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering Apr–Aug.
Habitat Rocky slopes, ledges, dry to moist gravelly flats and ridges, alpine, limestone, rarely on river cobbles at lower elevations. Sandy openings in coastal scrub, thin sandy soils over limestone terraces, north- or northwest-facing sandy bluffs, dunes.
Elevation 2200–3000 m. (7200–9800 ft.) 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[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.)

Castilleja mollis is federally listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of the United States. It is endemic to the coastal terraces of the northern portion of Santa Rosa Island, Santa Barbara County, in the northern Channel Islands of southern California. It is recorded historically from San Miguel Island. Much of the available low-elevation habitat on Santa Rosa Island was degraded by trampling and grazing of introduced ungulates, which also resulted in the apparent loss of a natural population on the western end of San Miguel Island, last seen in the 1930s and now believed extirpated. Reports of C. mollis from the Oso Flaco Lake area of the mainland, in San Luis Obispo County, are based on populations of C. affinis var. contentiosa. Castilleja mollis is most closely related to C. latifolia of the central California coast and a sister species to the north, C. mendocinensis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 653. FNA vol. 17, p. 632.
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. 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. 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
Name authority Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 27: 398. (1900) — (as Castilleia) Pennell: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 99: 185. (1947)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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