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Franciscan paint brush, longleaf Indian paintbrush

Alaska Indian paintbrush, coastal paintbrush, unalaska paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.8–12 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Herbs, perennial, 2–8 dm; from a short, stout, scaly, many-headed, woody caudex; with rhizomes or branching, woody roots.
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.

few to many, erect to ascending, unbranched or branched distally, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs sparse, spreading to erect, long, soft, eglandular, rarely stipitate-glandular.

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.

green, sometimes red-purplish, lanceolate-linear to lanceolate, elliptic-ovate, or ovate, (1.2–)3.5–10 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to slightly involute, 0(–3)-lobed, apex acuminate to acute;

lobes ascending, lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate.

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.

3.5–18 × 2–6.5 cm;

bracts proximally green, distally yellow, pale yellow, whitish, yellow-green, or pale orange, often aging reddish or pink, lanceolate, elliptic, ovate, oblanceolate, or oblong to narrowly obovate, (0–)3–5-lobed;

lobes ascending, linear to oblong, short, arising above mid length, apex acute to obtuse.

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 or slightly curved, 18–28 mm;

tube 16–19 mm;

beak partially to completely exserted, abaxial lip not exserted;

beak adaxially green, 6–13 mm;

abaxial lip deep green, reduced, inconspicuous, 1–2 mm, ca. 20% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, deep green or white, 0.5–1 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.

colored as bracts, 15–28 mm;

abaxial cleft 12–16 mm, adaxial 8–11.5 mm, clefts 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 4–10 mm, 20–35% of calyx length;

lobes oblong to lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded.

2n

= 24, 48, 72, 96.

= ca. 96.

Castilleja subinclusa

Castilleja unalaschcensis

Phenology Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Meadows, dunes, thickets, upper margins of tidal flats, river flats, gravel bars, tundra, open forests, roadsides, coastal to alpine.
Elevation 0–2100 m. (0–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; BC; YT; Asia (Russian Far East)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 unalaschcensis is a characteristic meadow species across much of the southern Alaskan coast, including the Aleutian Islands, as well as on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and the mainland of western British Columbia and southern Yukon. It is common in the coastal littoral zone and ascends to lower alpine meadow communities. Morphologically, it appears to be a sister species to C. septentrionalis of the Rocky Mountains and boreal sites in eastern North America. A weakly differentiated interior form was described as subsp. transnivalis Pennell.

(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. 663.
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. 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. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tenuiflora, C. tenuis, C. thompsonii, C. tomentosa, C. uliginosa, 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. pallida var. unalaschcensis
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 4: 2. (1899) — (as Castilleia) (Chamisso & Schlechtendal) Malte: Rhodora 36: 187. (1934) — (as unalaschkensis)
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