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attenuate Indian paintbrush, attenuate paintbrush, narrow-leaf owl's-clover, narrow-leaf owl-clover, narrow-leaf paintbrush, valley-tassels

Cahaba Indian paintbrush, Kral's paintbrush

Habit Herbs, annual, 1–4.5 dm; with fibrous roots. Herbs, annual or biennial, (1.6–)2–4(–4.9) dm; with fibrous roots.
Stems

solitary, erect to ascending, unbranched, sometimes branched from base, hairs spreading, short and medium, ± stiff, eglandular.

solitary or few, erect, from a basal rosette that usually persists into anthesis, unbranched or few-branched from mid stem, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, mixed with short stipitate-glandular ones.

Leaves

green to purple-tinged, linear to linear-lanceolate, (1–)2–8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acuminate;

lobes spreading to ascending, filiform to lanceolate, apex sometimes acuminate.

basal forming a persistent rosette, often withered at anthesis, usually suffused to varying degrees with red, sometimes green, oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 2–6 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0-lobed, apex obtuse to broadly rounded to sometimes acute or subtruncate;

cauline green, sometimes proximal suffused with red or purple, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, 1.1–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0–3(–5)-lobed, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse;

lobes erect to ascending, narrowly oblong to linear or narrowly lanceolate, to 1.8 cm, apex acute.

Inflorescences

(1.5–)2–10(–19, –30 in fruit) × 1–2 cm;

bracts proximally green to pale brown, rarely dull reddish brown, distally white on apices, sometimes pale yellow or pale pink-purplish on apices, rarely greenish or dull reddish brown throughout, lanceolate or lanceolate-elliptic, 3(–5)-lobed;

lobes ascending, linear to lanceolate, long, arising below mid length, apex acuminate, acute, or obtuse.

(2–)4–24(–33) × 2–4 cm;

bracts proximally greenish, distally bright yellow, rarely light orange, proximal narrowly lanceolate, leaflike, distal oblong to broadly rounded-oblanceolate, continuing to grow after anthesis and becoming greener and more leaflike, lateral lobes, if present, growing even more than central lobe, 0–5-lobed;

lobes erect, triangular or lanceolate, sometimes linear, short or medium length, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal rounded, rarely central lobe shallowly toothed.

Corollas

straight, 10–25 mm;

tube 9–20 mm, not expanded distally;

beak exserted, straight, adaxially white, light yellow, or greenish, 3–5 mm, inconspicuously puberulent;

abaxial lip white or yellow with deep brown to purple spots, often becoming pink, slightly inflated, exserted or not, pouches 3, 2 mm wide, 1–1.5 mm deep, 3–4 mm, 75–80% as long as beak;

teeth erect, white, pale yellow, or pink, 0.5–1.2 mm.

straight or slightly curved, (15–)17–23 mm;

tube 8–11 mm;

abaxial lip rarely exserted, beak exserted;

beak adaxially green or yellow-green, 5–7 mm, margins yellow or yellow-green;

abaxial lip ascending, deep green, slightly inflated, 2–3 mm, 20–30% as long as beak, apex rounded;

teeth ascending, green, whitish, or yellow, 0.5–2 mm.

Calyces

colored as bracts, (8–)15–23 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts (4–)6–8 mm, abaxial ca. 50% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 75% of calyx length, lateral 3–3.5 mm, 33% of calyx length;

lobes linear to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate.

proximally whitish or pale green, often aging purple, distally yellow, (13–)15–18 mm;

abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–7 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.2 mm, ca. 0% of calyx length;

lobes curved, oblong, apex rounded to truncate, sometimes emarginate.

Filaments

glabrous.

2n

= 24.

Castilleja attenuata

Castilleja kraliana

Phenology Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Jun. Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat Grasslands, pastures, moist margins of springs and streams, damp rocky slopes. Full sun or partial shade, outcrops and glades, forest edges, river bluffs, Ketona dolomite.
Elevation 0–2100 m. (0–6900 ft.) 90–150 m. (300–500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California); South America (Chile)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Castilleja attenuata is a common and widespread species, ranging from southwestern Canada to northern Baja California, with several disjunct populations in central Chile. It is sensitive to competition from weeds. Disjunct populations in the Rincon Mountains in Pima County, Arizona, often have pink bracts but are otherwise typical.

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

Castilleja kraliana is restricted to dolomite glades in Bibb County, which is a local center of endemism near the Cahaba River. Castilleja kraliana has mostly entire, bright yellow bracts and calyces 13–18 mm, and differs from the related C. coccinea, which has deeply lobed and red, rarely yellow, bracts and calyces 17–28 mm.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 590. FNA vol. 17, p. 617.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Castilleja Orobanchaceae > Castilleja
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. ambigua, C. angustifolia, C. applegatei, C. aquariensis, C. arachnoidea, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Orthocarpus attenuatus
Name authority (A. Gray) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. 16: 656. (1991) J. R. Allison: Castanea 66: 159, fig. 3. (2001)
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