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Flowers


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Castilleja linariifolia - Wyoming Indian paintbrush

Synonyms: Castilleja affinis var. linariifolia, C. linariifolia var. omnipubescens , C. linearis, C. trainii
Other Common Names: Wyoming paintbrush, narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, desert paintbrush
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Scrophulariaceae


   
 
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Leaves
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plants
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial
General Desc: Woody based, semi-parasitic, few to many smooth to slightly hairy stems and very narrow yellow to grayish-green stalkless leaves. The torch-like clusters at the stem tips consist of showy red petal-like bracts often mistaken for actual flower petals.
Identification notes: Stems several to many; leaves narrow with smooth margins; flower bracts deeply incised or pinnatifid; bracts and flowers light red, beaks bright green.
Height: To nearly 3 feet


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found on dry plains, in open woods, on rocky slopes, in areas of sagebrush scrub and grasses, in pinyon-juniper woodland communities and in Ponderosa pine, spruce-fir forests and aspen-conifer zones.
Plant Communities: Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 5000 - 10000 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Red, bright green     Shape: Irregular in elongated clusters     Tubular: Y     Flowering Period: Apr - Oct
Description: The torch-like flower stalk is a showy, dense, terminal cluster 3 to 6 inches long. It consists of petal-like bracts whose upper sections are red and lower sections green. Extending from the bracts are the bright green tips (beaks) of the red flowers.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Yellow, grayish-green, purple     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Smooth     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: Stems     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Stems are often branched but may be unbranched. Stems and leaves are yellow to grayish-green turning purple with age. Leaves are very narrow with 0 to 3 lobes usually on the upper leaves, up to 3 inches long, with leaf margins that fold upward.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Color: Brown   
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Fruits are dry, asymmetrical, egg-shaped capsules, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch long, with 2 to 4 segments or divisions. They produce many small seeds that are released upon maturity at which time the fruit segments split lengthwise.
Seed Notes: The seed is brown with angled-edges, about 1/16 inch long with a net-like or criss-cross pattern on its surface. The outer covering of the seed is loose-fitting and attached at the base of the fruit.



  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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