Hairy paintbrush is a perennial wildflower of arid areas east of the Cascades. The clusters of erect stems ascend from 10-35 cm high from spreading bases. The herbage ranges from coarse, straight hairs to woolly, spreading or retrorse, nonglandular hairs. The narrowly linear leaves are 3-5.5 cm long. The lower leaves have entire margins while the upper leaves have 1-2 pairs of linear or thin lateral lobes.
The yellowish-green, pale green or purplish inflorescence is nonglandular. The calyx is 10-18 mm long with the 4 linear to lanceolate segments roughly equally divided, each measuring 4-7 mm long. The corolla is 15-20 mm long. The lower lip is well-developed into 3 sac-like lobes 2.5-5 mm long and is almost as long as the galea, which ranges from 3-5 mm long.
var. longispica- Calyx 9-15 mm long. Herbage of curved, spreading or retorse hairs. Found from central Idaho east to northwestern Wyoming and southwestern Montana.
var. pilosa- Calyx 14-28 mm long. Hairs fine, more or less curly. Found below 2000 meters from southeastern Oregon northwestern Nevada and northeastern California. In Oregon, this variety may be found in Crook, Wheeler, Grant, Klamath, Lake, and northern Harney and Malheur Counties.
var. steenensis- Calyx 14-28 mm long. Hairs coarse, reflexed to spreading. Found above 2000 meters on Steens Mt.
Hairy paintbrush may be found in dry soils amongst sagebrush and juniper in the plains to well up into the mountains.
Hairy paintbrush may be found from southeastern Oregon and northeastern California and northwestern Nevada east across central Idaho to southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming.
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Steen's Mountain paintbrush as seen at the head of Kiger Gorge, Steens Mountain........July 9, 2014.
