Castilleja rubida
Castilleja sessiliflora
little reddish Indian paintbrush, purple alpine paintbrush, purple paintbrush, Wallowa alpine paintbrush
downy paintedcup, Great Plains Indian paintbrush
several, decumbent, or ascending, unbranched, hairs moderately dense, spreading, short and long, soft, eglandular and glandular.
few to many, ascending to erect, often decumbent at base, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, sometimes matted, short to medium length, ± soft, eglandular, often with a layer of minute-glandular hairs, sometimes woolly.
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 purple, or grayish with dust and hairs, linear to narrowly lanceolate, (1–)2–5(–6) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, (0–)3–5-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;
lobes divergent, spreading, linear, apex acute.
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.
3–18 × 2.5–6.5 cm;
bracts green to purplish throughout, sometimes reddish brown, pink, or lavender throughout, or distally white or pale yellow, sometimes distally dull pink, pink, salmon, orangish, pale pink-orange, buff, or cream, lanceolate, similar to distal leaves, 3(–5)-lobed;
lobes spreading, linear-lanceolate, long, arising at or below mid length, apex acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse.
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.
strongly curved distally, 35–55 mm;
tube 24–45 mm;
abaxial lip, beak, and distal portion of tube exserted;
beak adaxially green, yellow, pinkish, purplish, or whitish, 9–15 mm;
abaxial lip green, pale green, or purple, protruding, shelflike, 4–8 mm, 50–70% as long as beak;
teeth spreading, white, pale yellow, pink, or purple, 3–4 mm.
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, sometimes proximally white, 20–40 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 12–20 mm, 40–60% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 5–15 mm, 10–25% of calyx length;
lobes linear, apex acute to acuminate.
green.
= 24.
Castilleja rubida
Castilleja sessiliflora
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 sessiliflora ranges across the Great Plains from southern Canada to northern Mexico, where it is apparently rare. In Texas and northern Mexico, its range overlaps with the similar C. mexicana. Most populations of C. sessiliflora, especially north of Texas, have white to pale yellow inflorescences; in southwestern Texas they are more variable in color, with pink-purple plants often predominating locally. Those plants with pink-purple inflorescences were named forma purpurina by F. W. Pennell. In the limestone deserts of southern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona, the inflorescences are often a pale pink-orange, but these are intermingled with more typical greenish white plants. Occasional hybrids between C. angustifolia var. dubia and C. sessiliflora are known from northeastern Wyoming.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
