Castilleja nana
Encyclopedia
Castilleja nana is a species of Indian paintbrush
known by the common name dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States from the Sierra Nevada of California
east to Utah
, where it grows in dry, rocky alpine
habitat.
This is a small, hairy perennial herb growing up to about 25 centimeters tall but often remaining much smaller. The leaves are narrowly lance-shaped and up to about 3.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a cluster of pointed yellow-green, pink, or pale purple, hairy bract
s. Between the bracts appear the small purple-spotted yellow flowers, which are pouched with tiny, protruding stigmas
.
Castilleja
Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes, northern Asia, and one species as far west as the Kola Peninsula in Siberia...
known by the common name dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States from the Sierra Nevada of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
east to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, where it grows in dry, rocky alpine
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
habitat.
This is a small, hairy perennial herb growing up to about 25 centimeters tall but often remaining much smaller. The leaves are narrowly lance-shaped and up to about 3.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cluster of pointed yellow-green, pink, or pale purple, hairy bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s. Between the bracts appear the small purple-spotted yellow flowers, which are pouched with tiny, protruding stigmas
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
.