Castilleja angustifolia

Castilleja angustifolia (synonym: Castilleja chromosa) is a species of wildflower known by the common names northwestern Indian paintbrush and desert Indian paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America.[2] It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions.[3]

Castilleja angustifolia

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Castilleja
Species:
C. angustifolia
Binomial name
Castilleja angustifolia
Synonyms

Description
Desert paintbrush blazing up through bitterbrush on eastern Sierra Nevada hillside

This Indian paintbrush is under half a meter in height and has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an inflorescence of somewhat tubular yellow green flowers. The flowers are encased in bright red to orange-red bracts,[4] sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs.[5] The upper leaves and bracts are divided into 3–5 segments, while the lower leaves are undivided, long, and narrow.[6]

The plant flowers from May to September.[7] In areas such as Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, it is often associated with sagebrush.[6] The brightly colored bracts are used to attach pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies that would otherwise ignore the plant's small yellow green flowers.[8] The centimeter-long capsule fruits contain honeycomb-patterned seeds.

The species is similar to Castilleja linariaefolia.[6]

References
  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. "Plants Profile for Castilleja angustifolia (northwestern Indian paintbrush)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  3. "Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Castilleja chromosa". www.swcoloradowildflowers.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  4. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  5. "Desert Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja chromosa or angustifolia - DesertUSA". www.desertusa.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  6. Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 56. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
  7. "UC/JEPS: Jepson Manual treatment for CASTILLEJA angustifolia". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  8. "Desert Paintbrush - Parashant National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-02-05.


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