Castilleja subinclusa
Castilleja mexicana
Franciscan paint brush, longleaf Indian paintbrush
Mexican Indian paintbrush, Mexican paintbrush
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.
solitary or few, erect to erect-ascending, sometimes slightly curved at base, branched at base or unbranched, hairs spreading, long, stiff to soft, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones.
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.
brown or purplish, sometimes green, linear to narrowly oblong, 1–5 cm, not fleshy, margins wavy, mostly involute, to flat, 3–5-lobed, apex acute;
lobes spreading, linear, apex acute to obtuse.
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.
2–17 × 1.5–6.5 cm;
bracts greenish throughout, narrowly lanceolate (ovate in outline), 3–5(–7)-lobed;
lobes spreading, linear to narrowly oblong, long, arising from 1/3–2/3 blade length, wavy-margined, apex rounded or obtuse to acute.
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 proximally, conspicuously decurved distally, 35–60 mm;
tube 26–46 mm;
abaxial lip, beak, and majority of tube exserted;
beak yellow to yellowish green, sometimes purplish tipped or drying pinkish, 9–15 mm;
abaxial lip light yellow to whitish, prominent, not inflated, 4–8 mm, 50–75% as long as beak;
teeth spreading-ascending, yellowish, 3–6 mm.
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 brownish green, purplish, or green, lobes tipped with same color as bracts, 18–28 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 6–14 mm, 33–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1.5–6 mm, 8–20% of calyx length;
lobes lanceolate to narrowly triangular, abaxials wider than adaxials, apex acute.
= 24, 48, 72, 96.
= 24.
Castilleja subinclusa
Castilleja mexicana
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 mexicana occurs in the northern third of Mexico and reaches the flora area only in southwestern Texas. Its conspicuous corollas can be either yellow or, less commonly, white. In both cases, the flowers turn soft pink-purple with age. Texas populations of this species are yellow flowered, and the white-flowered morph appears to occur only in northeastern Mexico. There is some indication of additional morphological differences between these color morphs that may justify varietal segregation. Castilleja mexicana is sometimes confused with the closely related C. sessiliflora, due to their conspicuous, distally curved, usually strongly exserted corollas, but the two species remain distinct.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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 |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
