[Owl-clovers: The Genera Castilleja, Orthocarpus and Triphysaria in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrowleaf Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley Tassels, Valley-tassels

Castilleja attenuata

Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus

Inflorescence of Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus) - Dwarf Owl-clover, Native Owl-clover: Triphysaria pusilla (Synonym: Orthocarpus pusillus)

Narrow-leaf owl-clover from along the Horsethief Butte Trail to the north of the Dalles, OR..........April 24, 2006 (left) and April 15, 2009 (right).

Inflorescence of Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus)Characteristics:

Narrow-leaf owl-clover is a slender annual wildflower with erect, unbranched stems from 10-35 cm high. The leaves are narrowly lance-linear and range from 2-6 cm long. The margins are entire although the upper leaves may be 3-cleft. The leaves are all found on the stems.

The inflorescence is not very attractive. It is narrow and elongate with the bracts becoming increasingly cleft up the stem. The calyx is unequally lobed and the linear corolla is 1-2.5 cm long. The corolla is white and trisaccate. The lower lip is larger with yellow markings and smaller purplish spots within. The teeth of the lowerlip are well developed and nearly equal in length to the galea.


Habitat:

Narrow-leaf owl-clover is a wildflower of open meadows, pastures, and grassy slopes.


Range:

Narrow-leaf owl-clover may be found from southern Vancouver island to California. It is found west of the Cascades except for the Columbia River Gorge anda population found near Mackenzie Pass in the Oregon Cascades.

In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found between the elevations of 100'-220' from near the Wind River east to the Deschutes River.


Close-up sideview of a flower of Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus) - Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrowleaf Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley Tassels, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus)

A close-up sideview of the bract, calyx and corolla of narrow-leaf owl-clover as seen at left from along the Horsethief Butte Trail to the north of the Dalles, OR.........April 24, 2006. The photo at right shows narrow-leaf owl-clover blooming on open slopes above the Dalles Mountain Ranch, Columbia Hills Historical State Park......April 22, 2022.

Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Attenuate Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus) - Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Attenuate Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus) - Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Attenuate Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus)

3 close-up views of the inflorescence of narrow-leaf owl-clover as seen from along the Horsethief Butte Trail to the north of the Dalles, OR........May 8, 2009.

Dwarf Owl-clover, Dwarf Owl's-clover, Native Owl-clover:  Triphysaria pusilla (Synonyms: Orthocarpus pusillus, Orthocarpus pusillus var. densiuscuus) - Dwarf Owl-clover, Dwarf Owl's-clover, Native Owl-clover:  Triphysaria pusilla (Synonyms: Orthocarpus pusillus, Orthocarpus pusillus var. densiuscuus)

Narrow-leaf owlclover as seen on Castilleja Hill along the Memaloose Trail, Columbia River Gorge........April 21, 2017.

Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrowleaf Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley Tassels, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus)

Narrow-leaf owl-clover observed in bloom at Heartleaf Bluff, a Friends of the Columbia Gorge property near Lyle, WA.......April 13, 2024.

First of the new spring's growth of Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrowleaf Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley Tassels, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus) - Attenuate Indian Paintbrush, Narrowleaf Paintbrush, Narrow-leaf Owl-clover, Valley Tassels, Valley-tassels: Castilleja attenuata (Synonym: Orthocarpus attenuatus)

The first of the new year's growth of narrow-leaf owl-clover coming up at left on a southwest facing slope at the Klickitat Breaks, Klickitat Wildlife Area........February 26, 2015. The photo at right shows a clump of narrow-leaf owlclover in bloom along trails above the Crawford Oaks trailhead at Columbia Hills Historical State Park......April 9, 2018.

Dwarf Owl-clover, Native Owl-clover: Orthocarpus pusillus - Dwarf Owl-clover, Dwarf Owl's-clover: Triphysaria pusilla (Synonyms: Orthocarpus pusillus, Orthocarpus pusillus var. densiuscuus)

Narrow-leaf owl-clover as seen from Castilleja Hill near Memaloose in the central Columbia River Gorge of Oregon.........April 15, 2001.

Paul Slichter