General:
Perennial herb from a stout, somewhat woody stem-base; stems several, clustered, ascending to erect, 10-40 cm tall, usually unbranched, nearly smooth to soft-hairy or sometimes sticky glandular-hairy, especially in the inflorescence.

Leaves:
Alternate, linear to lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, entire, or the upper sometimes with a few short lobes, nearly smooth to finely soft-hairy or glandular-hairy, the veins prominent.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a prominently bracted terminal spike, at first compact, later elongating in fruit, the bracts usually crimson to purplish, occasionally scarlet or yellowish, egg-shaped to oblong, with 1 to 2 pairs of short lobes near the top, or entire and rounded, soft-hairy and sometimes sticky-hairy; corollas greenish, 20-35 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip beak-like, short-hairy, 8-12 mm long, much shorter than the tube and 4-5 times the length of the thickened, 3-toothed lower lip; calyces hairy, 15-25 mm long, deeply 2-lobed, these primary lobes again divided into 2 lanceolate, usually blunt, 3- to 6-mm long segments; stamens 4.

Fruits:
Capsules, about 12 mm long; seeds many, the seed-coats loose, net-veined.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Castilleja lauta A. Nelson
Castilleja leonardii Rydb.
Castilleja oregonensis Gandog.