[Paintbrushes: The Genus Castilleja East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Narrow-leaved Paintbrush, Wyoming Paintbrush, Wyoming Indian Paintbrush
Castilleja linariifolia
Synonym: Castilleja linariaefolia, Castilleja linariifolia var. omnipubescens, Castilleja linearis, Castilleja trainii
Narrow-leaved paintbrush as seen on Blady Mountain, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness........July 2, 2010.
Photo at
right of narrow-leaved paintbrush as seen from Fort Rock State Park, Fort Rock,
OR.
Characteristics:
Narrow-leaved paintbrush is an upright perennial wildflower
with erect, clustered and often branched stems from 30-80 cm in height. The
herbage of leaves and stems ranges from glabrous to minutely haired above and
villous below. The narrowly linear leaves frequently have rolled margins. The
leaves alternate on the stems are spreading, and range from 5-8 cm in length.
The dense inflorescence elongates from 8-16 cm long. The upper
sections of the bracts and calyces are scarlet with the lower sections green.
The broadly linear bracts have 1-2 pairs of long, narrow lobes. The calyx is
2.5-3.5 cm long, the upper surface cleft more deeply than the lower surface.
The lateral lobes are narrowly acuminate and curved upward, and measure 5-7
mm long. The greenish corolla is 3.5-4 cm long, the narrow curved galea longer
than the tube and throat, and ringed with scarlet. The lower lip is well exerted
from the tube, its lobes up to 2 mm long.
Because of the narrow leaves with rolled margins, and the long
galea, this is a fairly easy paintbrush to identify.
Habitat:
Narrow-leaved paintbrush may be found interspersed with sagebrush
in dry plains and foothills, although it may be found to 10,000 feet.
Range:
Narrow-leaved paintbrush may be found from central Oregon south
to southern California (east of the Sierra Nevada), east to south central Montana,
Wyoming , south to northwest New Mexico and northern Arizona.
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Narrow-leaved paintbrush as seen near the observatories atop Pine Mountain, Deschutes National Forest........July 11, 2017.
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Additional close-up photos of narrow-leaved paintbrush as seen on Baldy Mountain, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness........July 2, 2010.
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Narrow-leaved paintbrush observed along the Fremont National Recreation Trail #160 on the eastern slopes of Crook Peak, Fremont-Winema National Forest......July 17, 2022.
The photo above is a close-up of the calyx and corolla of narrow-leaved
paintbrush. Note the long, down-curved galea and the exserted lower lip. Photographed
at Picture Rock Pass, Oregon Highway 31........July 12, 1998.
Narrow-leaved paintbrush and gland paintbrush (Castilleja glandulifera) on sagebrush slopes around Table Rock, Monument Rock Wilderness........August 3, 2011.
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Narrow-leaved paintbrush as seen along the Canyon Mountain Trail, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.........May 29, 2014.
Narrow-leaved paintbrush from
the north loop of the Steens Mt. Road, circa 5000'........August 3, 1996.
The photo above shows a cluster of narrow-leaved paintbrush from atop the
Rooster Comb, south loop road at the Steens Mt., southeastern Oregon.......June
23, 1999.
Narrow-leaved paintbrush from
Fort Rock State Park, Fort Rock, OR........late June, 1994.
Paul Slichter