Castilleja unalaschcensis
Castilleja elegans
Alaska Indian paintbrush, coastal paintbrush, unalaska paintbrush
elegant Indian paintbrush, elegant paintbrush
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.
few to several, ascending to erect, or slightly decumbent at base, unbranched, hairy, sometimes glabrate near base, hairs erect-ascending, whitish or yellowish, long, soft, eglandular, mixed with shorter stipitate-glandular ones, especially distally.
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.
green to sometimes purple-tinged, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, (1.2–)2–6(–9) cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, flat to ± involute, 0-lobed, sometimes 3-lobed distally, immediately below inflorescence, apex acuminate to caudate;
lobes ascending to erect, linear to lanceolate, lateral lobes narrower than central, apex acuminate.
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.
1.5–9 × 1.5–3 cm;
bracts purple to pink-purple or reddish purple throughout, sometimes proximally purple to pink-purple or reddish purple, distally whitish or pale pink, oblong to lanceolate or narrowly ovate, (0–)3–7-lobed;
lobes spreading-ascending, linear-lanceolate, narrow, short or long, arising near or above mid length, center lobe apex rounded to sometimes acute, lateral ones acute.
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.
straight, 18–28 mm;
tube 17–20 mm;
abaxial lip generally visible between calyx lobes, sometimes exserted above them, beak exserted;
beak adaxially green, yellowish green, or purplish green, 4–8 mm;
abaxial lip purple or magenta, medium sized, often visible through or above abaxial cleft, pouches 3, slightly inflated, 3–5.5 mm, 50+% as long as beak;
teeth ascending, purple or magenta, 1–1.5 mm.
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.
yellow to yellow-green, rarely purplish to dull red throughout, 19–25 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 10–17 mm, 60–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (2–)5–8 mm, 20–25% of calyx length;
lobes narrowly oblong to lanceolate, apex rounded or obtuse, sometimes acute.
= ca. 96.
= 24.
Castilleja unalaschcensis
Castilleja elegans
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.)
Castilleja elegans is a characteristic species of the arctic and arctic-alpine regions. Its eastern and western limits are poorly understood, due to confusion with the similar species C. raupii to the east and south, and with C. rubra (Drobow) Rebristaya in eastern Asia. All three are part of a morphologically variable complex of recently evolved and poorly differentiated entities informally known as the C. pallida complex, after the first-described member of the group. Some reports of C. elegans in eastern Canada are here referred to C. septentrionalis. A recent collection of C. elegans from the northern Canadian Rocky Mountains is apparently disjunct, though it may also suggest its wider presence in Alberta.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
