Castilleja rubida |
Castilleja occidentalis |
|
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little reddish Indian paintbrush, purple alpine paintbrush, purple paintbrush, Wallowa alpine paintbrush |
western Indian paintbrush, western or western yellow paintbrush, western paintbrush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.5 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. | Herbs, perennial, 0.7–2(–3) dm; from a small, woody caudex; with a taproot. |
Stems | several, decumbent, or ascending, unbranched, hairs moderately dense, spreading, short and long, soft, eglandular and glandular. |
several to many, erect or ascending, usually short-decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes glabrous proximally, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with medium length to short stipitate-glandular ones only in inflorescence. |
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, linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate (to linear on sterile shoots), 1.5–4(–5.5) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, prominently veined, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex acute to rounded; lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex 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. |
2–7(–10) × 1–3.5 cm; bracts greenish to pale greenish yellow throughout, often aging dull reddish brown or reddish purple proximally, rarely dull reddish brown throughout, or proximally green, dull reddish brown, or reddish purple, distally greenish white, yellow, or cream, broadly lanceolate to widely oblong to ovate, 0–3(–7)-lobed; lobes ascending, triangular to lanceolate, medium length, usually arising at or above mid length, rarely just below, central lobe apex obtuse to rounded, others 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, 16–25 mm; tube 9–15 mm; teeth and part of abaxial lip sometimes exserted, beak exserted; beak adaxially green, (2.5–)5–9 mm; abaxial lip green, reduced, often visible through abaxial cleft, slightly pouched, 1.5–3 mm, 25–50% as long as beak; teeth incurved to ascending, white, sometimes green, 0.7–2 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. |
proximally green to purple, distally colored as bracts, 12–20 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9(–10) mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–3(–4.5) mm, 5–20% of calyx length; lobes lanceolate to triangular, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded. |
Stigmas | green. |
|
2n | = 24, 48. |
|
Castilleja rubida |
Castilleja occidentalis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Sep. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes, ledges, dry to moist gravelly flats and ridges, alpine, limestone, rarely on river cobbles at lower elevations. | Meadows, gravel slopes, talus, ridges, mostly upper subalpine to alpine. |
Elevation | 2200–3000 m. (7200–9800 ft.) | 1500–4300 m. (4900–14100 ft.) |
Distribution |
OR |
CO; MT; NM; UT; AB; BC
|
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 occidentalis has a wide distribution in the southern Rocky Mountains, a gap in its distribution in Wyoming, and reappears in Montana and the Canadian Rockies. Bract lobing and color vary considerably but without correlation to geography. Although C. occidentalis resembles an alpine form of C. septentrionalis, C. occidentalis is missing in several regions in the distribution of the latter, even when extensive areas of suitable habitat are available, and has a discrete range. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 653. | FNA vol. 17, p. 635. |
Parent taxa | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja | Orobanchaceae > Castilleja |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 27: 398. (1900) — (as Castilleia) | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 230. (1827) |
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