Castilleja rubicundula var. lithospermoides

(Bentham) J. M. Egger

Phytologia 90: 78. 2008.

Common names: Cream-sacs
Endemic
Basionym: Orthocarpus lithospermoides Bentham Scroph. Ind., 13. 1835
Synonyms: Castilleja rubicundula subsp. lithospermoides (Bentham) T. I. Chuang & Heckard
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 652. Mentioned on page 602, 618, 653.

Herbs 0.8–4.4 dm. Leaves 0–5(–7)-lobed, lobes ascending-spreading. Bracts 5–7(–9)-lobed. Corollas: abaxial lip light to bright yellow, in most populations quickly fading to white and in a few populations then to pink or pink-purple, small purple or reddish dots near base, teeth yellow or white.


Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat: Grasslands, damp flats, springs, vernal pools, roadbanks, coastal valleys and foothills, sometimes on serpentine.
Elevation: 0–2100 m.

Discussion

Variety lithospermoides is found in open grassland valleys along the North Coast and west of the Sierra Nevada in central and north-central California, especially in the regions west of the Sacramento Valley. It is known in southern Oregon from a single collection by T. J. Howell in the late 1800s and is apparently extirpated from that state. Variety lithospermoides is similar to and sometimes confused with Castilleja lacera or with Triphysaria versicolor subsp. faucibarbata. A peculiar form from Inverness, Marin County, was named Orthocarpus noctuinus Eastwood and later treated by some as a hybrid with C. densiflora.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
J. Mark Egger +, Peter F. Zika +, Barbara L. Wilson +, Richard E. Brainerd +  and Nick Otting +
(Bentham) J. M. Egger +
Orthocarpus lithospermoides +
Cream-sacs +
Calif. +  and Oreg. +
0–2100 m. +
Grasslands, damp flats, springs, vernal pools, roadbanks, coastal valleys and foothills, sometimes on serpentine. +
Flowering Apr–Jun(–Jul). +
Castilleja rubicundula subsp. lithospermoides +
Castilleja rubicundula var. lithospermoides +
Castilleja rubicundula +
variety +