The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Catalina Indian paintbrush, Santa Catalina Indian paintbrush, Santa Catalina paintbrush

Mount Hamilton paintbrush, Mt. Hamilton Indian paintbrush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 1.8–4(–5) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot.
Stems

several to many, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched, hairs spreading, long, soft, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

Leaves

green, linear to narrowly or broadly lanceolate, (1–)3–5(–6) cm, not fleshy, margins wavy (obscure on many pressed specimens), involute, usually 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex broadly acute to rounded;

lobes widely spreading, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate.

Inflorescences

2.5–10 × 2–5.5 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally red to red-orange, narrowly lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 3–5-lobed;

lobes spreading, distal, if present, ascending, linear or narrowly oblanceolate to triangular, proximals long, arising below mid blade, distals short, sometimes mere teeth, near apex of central lobe, sometimes wavy-margined, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes acute.

Corollas

straight to slightly curved, 24–38 mm;

tube 14–21 mm;

beak exserted from calyx, adaxially green, 11–16.5(–18) mm;

abaxial lip green, reduced, visible or not through deep front cleft in calyx, 2 mm, 13% as long as beak;

teeth incurved, green, 1 mm.

Calyces

whitish with green veins or green, sometimes purple, distally same color as bracts, sometimes with yellowish band below colored apices, 20–26(–29) mm;

abaxial clefts (8–)13–16(–19) mm, adaxial 7–12(–14) mm, clefts 35–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 2–6(–8) mm, 10–30% of calyx length;

lobes linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, apex obtuse to acute.

2n

= 48.

Castilleja tenuiflora

Castilleja dissitiflora

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Sagebrush slopes often rocky, montane to subalpine.
Elevation 1900–3300 m. (6200–10800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

Castilleja tenuiflora is common and widespread across the mountains of Mexico, especially in pine-oak-madrone communities at middle elevations, as far south as Oaxaca, where it is found west and north of the Tehuantepec lowlands. There are two varieties of C. tenuiflora endemic to Mexico, while the typical variety crosses into the mountains of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. Considerable local and regional variation exists in C. tenuiflora, but most of this appears to be racial in nature, and additional named varieties are likely not justified. While also commonly herbaceous, C. tenuiflora often forms large, multi-stemmed, subshrub plants with a woody base and ascending to strongly erect and often branched stems. It is valued in Mexican traditional medicine and is under study for potentially useful compounds (M. Jiménez et al. 1995; P. M. Sanchez et al. 2013).

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

Castilleja dissitiflora is endemic to several mountain ranges in central and eastern Nevada, in the upper montane and lower subalpine zones. It has the deep abaxial calyx cleft of C. linariifolia and the stipitate-glandular, wavy-margined leaves of C. applegatei var. pinetorum. Based on morphological data, Holmgren suggested that it is an allopolyploid derived from hybridization of C. applegatei var. pinetorum and C. linariifolia. His proposal is plausible and should be further tested. Castilleja dissitiflora is a tetraploid, while both putative parental species have at least some diploid populations.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 659. FNA vol. 17, p. 603.
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. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, 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. 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. unalaschcensis, C. victoriae, C. viscidula, C. wightii, C. wootonii, C. xanthotricha
Subordinate taxa
C. tenuiflora var. tenuiflora
Name authority Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 22. (1839) N. H. Holmgren: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 21(4): 46, figs. 6–8. (1971)
Web links