Castilleja purpurea (Nutt.) G. Don var. lindheimeri (A. Gray) Skinners (= C. lindheimeri A. Gray), lindheimer paintbrush. Perennial herb, hemiparasitic, several–stemmed at base, to 40 cm tall; shoots with only cauline leaves, short–villous and villous, not viscid.
Stems ridged, to 3 mm diameter, with 2 fine ridges descending from each leaf.
Leaves helically alternate, unlobed (lower leaves) and 2—3–lobed (upper cauline leaves), sessile and not clasping, without stipules; blade narrowly lanceolate to linear, 35—70 × 3—6.5 mm, entire or with slender lateral lobe or lobes from ca. midblade, lateral lobe < terminal lobe, acuminate at tip, (1)3(5)–veined at base with principal veins sunken on upper surface and conspicuously raised on lower surface, surfaces mostly short–villous.
Inflorescence spike, terminal, 10+–flowered, flowers ± erect, bracteate, glandular–hairy; rachis ridged, with 2 reddish ridges with 2 descending from each bractlet; bractlet subtending flower, leaflike, 3–lobed ± from midpoint, to 35 × ca. 10 mm, 5–veined with veins raised on outer surface, lower portion cupping flower and fruit green, lobes orange–red to light scarlet, lobes oblong to obovate to oblanceolate, lateral lobes 6—10.5 × 2—2.5 mm, terminal lobe ca. 13 × 6 mm, acute at tips.
Flower bisexual, bilateral, 5 mm across; calyx 2–lipped, 4–lobed, ± 17 mm long, membranous with green veins, yellowish but certain lobes blushed orange–red, aging papery, mostly having stalked glandular hairs and occasional nonglandular long hairs along veins ± 1 mm long; tube ridged, ± 3 mm diameter, sinuses lateral, inner surface membranous, glabrous; lips ± equal, each 2–lobed, lobes oblong to obovate–oblong, ca. 5 × 2.1—2.6 mm, acute at tip, 1–veined; corolla 2–lipped, 4–lobed, ca. 23 mm long; tube + throat ± cylindric, ca. 14 mm long, colorless, slightly inflated at top; upper lobe pleated and inrolled, resembling narrow bird beak, ± 7.5 mm long, whitish at base to green at top and sometimes orange–red, glandular–hairy on outer side; lower lip 3–lobed, lobes cupped, lateral lobes lanceolate and center lobe ovate and shorter, ± green, glandular–hairy; stamens 4, arising 7—8 mm from corolla base; filaments 10—11 mm long, white, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ca. 2.5 mm long, light orange, the sacs offset, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen light orange; pistil 1, to 30 mm long; ovary superior, ovoid compressed side–to–side, ca. 5 × 1.5—1.6 mm, green, slightly keeled, with several scattered of short hairs, 2–chambered, each chamber with many ovules; style slender, white becoming green approaching stigma, green portion exserted 3—5 mm from tip of flower, stigma 2–lobed top–shaped, 0.6—0.7 × 0.6—0.7 mm.
Fruit capsule, loculicidal, 2–valved, many–seeded, ovoid, 9—12 × 5.5—7 mm, dark brown.
Seed spheroid to broadly ellipsoid, 1—1.7 mm long, honeycombed with blackish walls and membranous pits.
A. C. Gibson