Castilleja miniata

Douglas ex Hooker

Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 106. 1838.

Common names: Scarlet or common or giant red paintbrush
Illustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 627. Mentioned on page 566, 579, 581, 582, 584, 595, 596, 599, 601, 604, 609, 611, 616, 622, 624, 628, 634, 643, 649, 651, 657, 662.

Herbs, perennial, 1.2–8 (–10) dm; from a woody caudex (or slender rooting rhizomes in var. dixonii, var. miniata); with a taproot or with slender, branched roots from a rhizome. Stems few-to-many, erect to ascending, rarely proximally decumbent or creeping and rooting at nodes, usually branched, glabrous, glabrate, or hairy, hairs spreading to ± retrorse, short to long, soft to stiff, rarely stipitate-glandular. Leaves green to purple, linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or ovate, (1.5–) 3–8 (–9.5) cm, thin and not fleshy or slightly to moderately thickened and slightly fleshy, margins plane, rarely wavy, flat to involute, whole leaf sometimes recurved downward, 0 (–5) -lobed, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes rounded; lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute. Inflorescences 3–15 (–22) × 1.5–5.5 cm, often bearing a thin, white, powdery exudate, especially on bract surfaces; bracts greenish, scarlet, red, red-orange, or pale orange throughout, sometimes pink, magenta, pink-purple, yellow, greenish yellow, white, or salmon throughout, or proximally greenish, distally colored as above, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 0–5 (–7) -lobed, central lobes sometimes distally apiculate; lobes erect, linear to lanceolate, oblong, or oblanceolate, short or medium length, arising near or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse, rounded, or truncate, lateral ones rounded to acute or acuminate. Pedicels 0–5 mm. Calyces colored as bracts, 15–38 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–24 mm, 35–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–) 3–8 (–12) mm, 5–30% of calyx length; lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse. Corollas slightly curved, 20–48 mm; tube 12–26 mm; abaxial lip usually not exserted, though often visible in front calyx cleft, beak partially to fully exserted; beak adaxially green to yellow-green or whitish, (9–) 14–25 mm; abaxial lip incurved or ascending, deep green or green, sometimes deep purple or yellowish, reduced, not inflated, visible in front cleft, 0.5–3.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak (to ca. 33% as long as beak in some populations of var. miniata); teeth incurved or erect, green or white, 0.7–1.5 mm. 2n = 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144.

Distribution

Alta., B.C., Man., Ont., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., N.Mex., Nev., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Wyo., nw Mexico

Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

Castilleja miniata is widely recognized as the common scarlet paintbrush. It is highly variable and has five levels of polyploidy. Nonetheless, it remains fairly well defined morphologically across its wide range. Native Americans use it medicinally. A probable hybrid with C. septentrionalis from southern Nevada was named C. ×porterae Cockerell.

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Bracts distally pale yellowish, pale orange, or salmon, sometimes pale red; n, c British Columbia, adjacent wc Alberta, s Yukon. Castilleja miniata var. fulva
1 Bracts distally scarlet, red, or orange-red, sometimes orange, pink, pink-purple, magenta, pale orange, yellow, greenish yellow, or white; widespread in much of w North America south of the arctic. > 2
2 Stems glabrous or glabrate proximally, hairy medially and distally; leaves appressed-ascending, ascending, or spreading, often thickened and slightly fleshy; calyx lobe apices acuminate; Cuyamaca, Laguna, San Bernardino and e San Gabriel mountains of sw California. Castilleja miniata var. oblongifolia
2 Stems glabrous or sparsely hairy proximally and medially, subglabrous or sparsely hairy distally; leaves spreading to ascending, thin and not fleshy (except sometimes in var. dixonii); calyx lobe apices acute to acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America. > 3
3 Leaves linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse; calyx lobe apices acute, sometimes acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America, except near coast. Castilleja miniata var. miniata
3 Leaves narrowly lanceolate to ovate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices rounded to obtuse, sometimes acute to acuminate; calyx lobe apices acute to obtuse; coastal, from extreme nw Oregon northward to British Columbia. Castilleja miniata var. dixonii

"thin" is not a number."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Castilleja miniata"
144 +, 120 +, 96 +, 72 +, 48 +  and 24 +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
yellowish +, purple +, deep +  and green +
ascending +  and incurved +
not inflated +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
acute +  and acuminate or obtuse +
J. Mark Egger +, Peter F. Zika +, Barbara L. Wilson +, Richard E. Brainerd +  and Nick Otting +
Douglas ex Hooker +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
not +, leathery +  and fleshy +
colored;greenish;salmon;white;salmon;white;greenish yellow;yellow;pink-purple;magenta;pink;pale orange;red-orange;pale orange;red-orange;red;scarlet;greenish +
2-lobed +, lobed +  and tubular +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3.8 cm38 mm <br />0.038 m <br />) +
taprooted;fibrous-rooted or rhizomatous +
fleshy +  and woody +
0-5(-7)-lobed +, lanceolate +  and oblong-ovate +
Scarlet or common or giant red paintbrush +
purple +, pink +, red +, orange +, yellow +, white +, green +  and pale greenish +
divided +  and tubular +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4.8 cm48 mm <br />0.048 m <br />) +
Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, Ont. +, Sask. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Idaho +, Mont. +, N.Mex. +, Nev. +, Oreg. +, Utah +, Wash. +, Wyo. +  and nw Mexico +
spreading-hairy +  and glabrous +
2 +  and 1 +
indehiscent +, septicidal +, loculicidal +  and dehiscence +
much-branched +, unbranched +  and eglandular +
spreading +  and more or less retrorse +
stipitate-glandular +
short to long +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (22 cm220 mm <br />0.22 m <br />) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
axillary +  and terminal +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (5.5 cm55 mm <br />0.055 m <br />) +
spiral +, whorled +, alternate +  and opposite +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (9.5 cm95 mm <br />0.095 m <br />) +
green +  and purple +
deciduous +
downward +  and recurved +
basal +  and cauline +
0(-5)-lobed;linear;lanceolate narrowly elliptic narrowly oblong or ovate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
fleshy +  and not fleshy +
above mid lobes +, arising +, erect +  and ascending-spreading +
3 (?) +, 2 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
narrowly lanceolate +  and narrowly triangular +
subequal +
flat +  and involute +
tenuinucellate +  and unitegmic +
campylotropous-like +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Fl. Bor.-Amer. +
slender +
stramineous +
20 +  and 100 +
trapezoidal +, oblong-ovoid +, pyramidal +  and ovoid +
Illustrated +
non-secund +  and secund +
elongate +
subequal +
branched +  and rooting +
creeping +  and decumbent +
aerial +  and subterranean +
erect +  and ascending +
hairy +, glabrate +  and glabrous +
not fleshy +
2-lobed +  and entire +
Euchroma +  and Oncorhynchus +
Castilleja miniata +
Castilleja +
species +
white +  and green +
shallow;deep +
erect +  and incurved +
reduced +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2.6 cm26 mm <br />0.026 m <br />) +