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Castilleja rupicola

cliff Indian paintbrush, cliff paintbrush

Mount Gleason paintbrush, Mt. Gleason paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, (0.8–)1–2(–3) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 3–8 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
Stems

many, decumbent to ascending, unbranched, sparsely pubescent, hairs spreading, wavy, fairly short, soft, eglandular, sometimes glabrous proximally.

several to many, erect to ascending, branched, sometimes unbranched, hairs moderately dense, spreading, ± matted, ash gray, branched, sometimes unbranched, medium length, soft, often mixed with shorter, unbranched, stipitate-glandular ones, not obscuring surface.

Leaves

purple to green, narrowly, rarely broadly, lanceolate, 1.4–4 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to involute, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acute to acuminate;

lobes divergent, spreading-ascending, linear, long, not much narrower than mid blade, often with secondary lobes, creating little frilly fans, apex acute or obtuse.

ash gray, linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblong or narrowly oblanceolate, 2–6 cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acute to obtuse;

lobes spreading, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse.

Inflorescences

2–6 × 2–3.5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish or deep purple near base, distally red, scarlet, or crimson to red-orange, rarely orange, salmon, pink, or yellowish white, ovate to orbicular in outline, 5(–9)-lobed;

lobes spreading, linear to linear-lanceolate, long, arising below mid length, apex acute to rounded.

10–15(–30) cm;

bracts proximally greenish to dull brownish purple, distally red to deep red or red-orange, lanceolate to oblong or narrowly ovate, (0–)3(–5)-lobed;

lobes ascending to spreading, narrowly oblong to narrowly lanceolate, medium length, arising below mid length, center lobe apex obtuse or toothed, lateral ones acute.

Corollas

straight or slightly curved, 25–35(–45) mm;

tube 9–15 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially green, purplish, or yellow-green, 14–22 mm;

abaxial lip deep green, reduced, 0.5–2 mm, 6–12% as long as beak;

teeth incurved to erect, green, 0.5 mm.

± straight, 18–30 mm;

tube 9–15 mm;

beak exserted, adaxially yellow, 9–15(–20) mm;

abaxial lip spreading, deep green to ± black, reduced, 0.5–2 mm, 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, green, 0.2–1 mm.

Calyces

proximally purple, green, or whitish, distally colored as bract lobes, 15–25 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 8 mm, ca. 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–5 mm, 10–20% of calyx length;

lobes triangular, apex obtuse or acute.

proximally pale to green, sometimes dull purple, often paler or greener than bracts, distal 1/4 or less colored as bract lobes, 12–17 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 3–8 mm, 40% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0.5–3 mm, 20–25% of calyx length;

lobes ovate to narrowly triangular, apex obtuse to acute.

2n

= 72.

Castilleja rupicola

Castilleja gleasoni

Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Sep. Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Sunny rocky slopes, scree, talus, ledges, fellfields, subalpine to alpine. Ledges, rocky slopes, open yellow pine forests, montane chaparral or sagebrush.
Elevation (200–)1000–2500 m. ((700–)3300–8200 ft.) 900–2200 m. (3000–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
Discussion

Castilleja rupicola is usually found in the subalpine and lower alpine zones in the Cascade Range from extreme southern British Columbia south to northern Douglas County, Oregon. Though it can be numerous where it occurs, the species as a whole is uncommon. One atypical population occurs in a moist, shaded, mossy, north-facing ravine on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, at less than 250 m. These plants often bear secondary divisions on deeply dissected leaves and bracts.

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

Castilleja gleasoni is an uncommon plant endemic to the upper elevations of the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County. It was treated as a polyploid derivative of C. affinis var. affinis (as subsp. affinis) × C. foliolosa (T. I. Chuang and L. R. Heckard 1993b), a hypothetical ancestry supported by a chromosome number of 2n = 72. Others have placed it as a subspecies of C. pruinosa, a similar species. However, the morphology of C. gleasoni also suggests it could have originated as a cross between the diploid C. foliolosa and a tetraploid form of C. martini; careful morphological and molecular analyses are needed to determine its true ancestry.

Castilleja gleasoni is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 653. FNA vol. 17, p. 610.
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. rubida, 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. 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
Synonyms C. pruinosa subsp. gleasoni
Name authority Piper: Erythea 6: 45. (1898) — (as Castilleia) Elmer: Bot. Gaz. 39: 51. (1905) — (as Castilleia)
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