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Franciscan paint brush, longleaf Indian paintbrush

Mount Gleason paintbrush, Mt. Gleason paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.8–12 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 3–8 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
Stems

solitary or few to many, erect to ascending, often leaning on nearby shrubs (var. jepsonii), unbranched or branched, often with small, leafy axillary shoots, hairs matted to spreading, short and long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

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

green, pale gray-green, sometimes dull reddish purple, linear to narrowly, sometimes broadly, lanceolate, 2–10.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat or involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;

lobes spreading, linear to short-lanceolate, often arising near mid length, apex acute to 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

3–30 × 1–7 cm;

bracts green or dull purple throughout, or proximally green or dull purple, distally bright red to orange-red, sometimes salmon, orange, or yellow, usually linear to lanceolate, distal sometimes broadly lanceolate to oblong or elliptic, 0(–3)-lobed;

lobes spreading to erect, linear to oblong or triangular, short or medium length, arising near or above mid length, apex acute to obtuse.

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

curved proximally, straight to slightly curved distally, 25–57 mm;

tube 15–29 mm;

beak subequal to or exceeding calyx but abaxial lip, beak, and often part of tube usually exserted out abaxial cleft;

beak adaxially green, yellow-green, or yellow, 13–21 mm, margins red, orange, or yellow;

abaxial lip green, yellow, reddish, blackish, or deep red-purple, reduced, protuberant, forming a platform, 1–2 mm, 5–25% as long as beak;

teeth ascending, green, purple sometimes with reddish tip, yellow, or blackish, 0.5–1 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 pale green, rarely pale purple, distally bright red or red-orange, rarely orange or yellow, or bright red or red-orange throughout, 20–42 mm;

abaxial clefts 13–27 mm, adaxial 7–17 mm, abaxial 40–70% of calyx length, adaxial 12–33% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–7.5 mm, 0–35% of calyx length;

lobes linear to narrowly triangular, strongly curved away from stem proximally and distally obviously curved toward stem, apex acute to acuminate to obtuse.

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

= 24, 48, 72, 96.

= 72.

Castilleja subinclusa

Castilleja gleasoni

Phenology Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Ledges, rocky slopes, open yellow pine forests, montane chaparral or sagebrush.
Elevation 900–2200 m. (3000–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Castilleja subinclusa is divided into three varieties with somewhat discontinuous ranges. Identification of the varieties is often difficult when comparing only a single trait but is more easily accomplished when the characters are considered in a suite. The three varieties are also separable by range and habitat.

(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.)

Key
1. Corolla beaks adaxially bright yellow, sometimes greenish yellow near apex, margins yellow, rarely orange or red, strongly contrasting with color of calyces; stems and leaves greenish, sometimes dull reddish; lateral calyx clefts 0–4 mm; coastal scrub communities; coastal c California.
var. franciscana
1. Corolla beaks adaxially green to yellow-green, rarely yellow, margins red to orange, rarely yellow, not strongly contrasting with color of calyces; stems and leaves greenish, pale gray-green, or dull reddish; lateral calyx clefts 3–7.5 mm; dry, sandy or rocky slopes, desert scrub, foothill woodlands, chaparral, brushy openings in pine-oak woods; w foothills of Sierra Nevada in c California or sw California.
→ 2
2. Stems and leaves greenish, sometimes dull reddish; bracts (0–)3-lobed; brushy openings in pine-oak woods; mostly in w foothills of Sierra Nevada in c California.
var. subinclusa
2. Stems usually dull reddish; leaves usually pale gray-green to ± ash-colored; bracts 0(–3)-lobed; dry, sandy or rocky slopes, desert scrub, foothill woodlands, chaparral; sw California.
var. jepsonii
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 657. 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. rupicola, C. salsuginosa, C. scabrida, C. schizotricha, C. septentrionalis, C. sessiliflora, 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
Subordinate taxa
C. subinclusa var. franciscana, C. subinclusa var. jepsonii, C. subinclusa var. subinclusa
Synonyms C. pruinosa subsp. gleasoni
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 4: 2. (1899) — (as Castilleia) Elmer: Bot. Gaz. 39: 51. (1905) — (as Castilleia)
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