Castilleja nivea

Pennell & Ownbey

Notul. Nat. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 227: 2. 1950.

Common names: Snow or snowy paintbrush
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 634. Mentioned on page 568, 571, 635, 648.

Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1.6 dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Stems few to several, erect to ascending, decumbent at base, unbranched except for small, leafy axillary shoots, hairs weakly spreading to appressed, ± matted, especially distally on stem, fairly short and sparse proximally, longer and denser distally, soft, eglandular, becoming woolly, often obscuring surface. Leaves gray with hairs, surface green to purple, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1–3.8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, sometimes ± wavy, involute, 0–3-lobed, apex acute; lobes ascending-spreading, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to obtuse. Inflorescences 2.5–6 × 1–2.5 cm; bracts greenish to pale yellow-green or very pale, dull purplish throughout, lanceolate to oblong, (0–) 3 (–5) -lobed; lobes usually ascending, linear, medium length to long, arising near mid length, apex acute. Calyces yellow, color mostly obscured by whitish hairs, 15–22 mm; abaxial, adaxial, and lateral clefts (5.5–) 7–12 mm, 35–55% of calyx length, often appearing shorter because matted hairs stitch proximal part of clefts shut, all 4 clefts subequal; lobes broadly linear, apex acute. Corollas straight, 18–25 mm; tube 3.5–5.5 mm; subequal to calyx, or beak and sometimes abaxial lip exserted; beak adaxially yellow, 6–8 mm, hairs moderately long, matted on midline, very short-glandular on sides; abaxial lip green, inconspicuous, slightly pouched, 3.5–5.5 mm, 60–90% as long as beak; teeth erect, white or yellow, 0.5–3 mm. 2n = 24.


Phenology: Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat: Gravelly slopes and flats, turf and fellfields, mostly alpine.
Elevation: 1700–3600 m.

Discussion

Castilleja nivea is endemic to alpine habitats in the mountains of northwestern Wyoming and adjacent Montana. It forms occasional hybrids with C. pulchella, which often shares its habitat, as on the Beartooth Plateau in northwestern Wyoming.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Castilleja nivea"
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +
0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
acute +  and obtuse +
J. Mark Egger +, Peter F. Zika +, Barbara L. Wilson +, Richard E. Brainerd +  and Nick Otting +
Pennell & Ownbey +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
not +, leathery +  and fleshy +
purplish;pale;greenish;pale yellow-green +
(0-)3(-5)-lobed +, lanceolate +  and oblong +
obscured +  and yellow +
2-lobed +, lobed +  and tubular +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br />) +
taprooted;fibrous-rooted or rhizomatous +
fleshy +  and woody +
subequal +
Snow or snowy paintbrush +
purple +, pink +, red +, orange +, yellow +, white +, green +  and pale greenish +
divided +  and tubular +
1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
Mont. +  and Wyo. +
1700–3600 m. +
spreading-hairy +  and glabrous +
2 +  and 1 +
indehiscent +, septicidal +, loculicidal +  and dehiscence +
Gravelly slopes and flats, turf and fellfields, mostly alpine. +
long +  and longer +
weakly spreading +  and appressed +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
axillary +  and terminal +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
spiral +, whorled +, alternate +  and opposite +
deciduous +
basal +  and cauline +
exserted +  and abaxial +
arising +, ascending +  and ascending-spreading +
3 (?) +, 2 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
subequal +
0-3-lobed +, wavy +  and plane +
tenuinucellate +  and unitegmic +
campylotropous-like +
Flowering Jun–Aug. +
Notul. Nat. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia +
stramineous +
20 +  and 100 +
trapezoidal +, oblong-ovoid +, pyramidal +  and ovoid +
non-secund +  and secund +
elongate +
subequal +
aerial +  and subterranean +
erect +  and ascending +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
few;several +
not fleshy +
2-lobed +  and entire +
green;purple +
linear;narrowly lanceolate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (3.8 cm38 mm <br />0.038 m <br />) +
not fleshy +
Euchroma +  and Oncorhynchus +
Castilleja nivea +
Castilleja +
species +
yellow +  and white +
shallow;deep +
reduced +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
subequal +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +