E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Castilleja minor var. exilis
annual paintbrush
Scrophulariaceae (Butterfly-bush family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Sara Bunge  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #17548)

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Distribution of Castilleja minor var. exilis
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a short taproot or small branched root system; stems erect, 30-80 cm tall, usually single and unbranched, sometimes branched above, glandular-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 3-8 cm long, long-tapering to a sharp tip, entire, glandular-hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a prominently bracted terminal spike, narrow and elongate, the flowers spaced apart, the bracts leaflike, the upper ones red- or scarlet-tipped, lanceolate, entire, glandular, much longer than the flowers; corollas yellowish, 15-25 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip short and blunt, short-hairy, 5-7 mm long, shorter than the tube, 4-5 times as long as the much-reduced lower lip, the lower lip 1-3 mm long, the teeth obsolete; calyces green, hairy, 15-20 mm long, deeply 2-lobed, these primary lobes again divided into 2 linear, sharp segments 1-3 mm long; stamens 4.
Fruits:
Capsules, 10-18 mm long; seeds many, the seed-coats loose, net-veined.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Alkaline marshes, wet meadows and gravelly seepage areas in the steppe and lower montane zones; rare in SC and SE BC; S to NM, AZ and NV.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Castilleja minor (A. Gray) A. Gray

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References