Castilleja angustifolia

Castilleja angustifolia
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Orobanchaceae
Genus:	Castilleja
Species:	C. angustifolia
Binomial name
Castilleja angustifolia (Nutt.) G.Don
Varieties [2]
C. a. var. angustifolia C. a. var. dubia C. a. var. flavescens
Synonyms [2] [3] [4] [5]
List Castilleja bennittii Castilleja bradburii Castilleja buffumii Castilleja dubia Castilleja flavescens Castilleja subcinerea Euchroma angustifolia Euchroma bradburii

Castilleja angustifolia 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. ^[6] It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions. ^[7]

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, ^[8] sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. ^[9] The upper leaves and bracts are divided into 3–5 segments, while the lower leaves are undivided, long, and narrow. ^[10]

The plant flowers from May to September. ^[11] In areas such as Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, it is often associated with sagebrush. ^[10] The brightly colored bracts are used to attach pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies that would otherwise ignore the plant's small yellow green flowers. ^[12] The centimeter-long capsule fruits contain honeycomb-patterned seeds.

The species is similar to Castilleja linariifolia . ^[10]

Taxonomy

Castilleja angustifolia was given the scientific name Euchroma angustifolia by Thomas Nuttall in 1834. Four years later in 1838 it was moved to the genus Castilleja by George Don. Together with its genus it is classified in the family Orobanchaceae. It has three accepted varieties. ^[2]

• Castilleja angustifolia var. angustifolia – Northwestern US ^[3]
• Castilleja angustifolia var. dubia – Rocky Mountains and South Dakota ^[4]
• Castilleja angustifolia var. flavescens – Nevada, Idaho, and Utah ^[5]

Castilleja angustifolia has twelve synonyms of the species or one of its varieties. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Synonym of:	Notes
Castilleja angustifolia var. adenophoraFernald	1898	variety	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja angustifolia subsp. bradburii(Nutt.) Piper & Beattie	1915	subspecies	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja angustifolia var. bradburii(Nutt.) Fernald	1898	variety	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja angustifolia var. subcinerea(Rydb.) A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.	1916	variety	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja bennittiiA.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.	1913	species	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja bradburii(Nutt.) G.Don	1838	species	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja buffumiiA.Nelson	1909	species	var. angustifolia	= het.
Castilleja dubia(A.Nelson) A.Nelson	1909	species	var. dubia	≡ hom.
Castilleja flavescensPennell ex Edwin	1959	species	var. flavescens	≡ hom.
Castilleja subcinereaRydb.	1913	species	var. angustifolia	= het.
Euchroma angustifoliaNutt.	1834	species	E. angustifolia	≡ hom.
Euchroma bradburiiNutt.	1834	species	var. angustifolia	= het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym  ; = heterotypic synonym

References

1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
2. "Castilleja angustifolia (Nutt.) G.Don". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
3. "Castilleja angustifolia var. angustifolia". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
4. "Castilleja angustifolia var. dubia A.Nelson". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
5. "Castilleja angustifolia var. flavescens (Pennell ex Edwin) N.H.Holmgren". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
6. "Plants Profile for Castilleja angustifolia (northwestern Indian paintbrush)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
7. "Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Castilleja chromosa". www.swcoloradowildflowers.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
8. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
9. "Desert Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja chromosa or angustifolia - DesertUSA". www.desertusa.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
10. 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.
11. "UC/JEPS: Jepson Manual treatment for CASTILLEJA angustifolia". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
12. "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.

External links

• Media related to Castilleja angustifolia at Wikimedia Commons