Castilleja kraliana

Herbs, annual or biennial, (1.6–) 2–4 (–4.9) dm; with fibrous-roots. Stems solitary or few, erect, from a basal rosette that usually persists into anthesis, unbranched or few-branched from mid-stem, glabrate proximally, hairy distally, hairs moderately dense, spreading, long, soft, mixed with short-stipitate-glandular ones. Leaves: basal forming a persistent rosette, often withered at anthesis, usually suffused to varying degrees with red, sometimes green, oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 2–6 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0-lobed, apex obtuse to broadly rounded to sometimes acute or subtruncate; cauline green, sometimes proximal suffused with red or purple, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, 1.1–6.5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat, 0–3 (–5) -lobed, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse; lobes erect to ascending, narrowly oblong to linear or narrowly lanceolate, to 1.8 cm, apex acute. Inflorescences (2–) 4–24 (–33) × 2–4 cm; bracts proximally greenish, distally bright-yellow, rarely light orange, proximal narrowly lanceolate, leaflike, distal oblong to broadly rounded-oblanceolate, continuing to grow after anthesis and becoming greener and more leaflike, lateral lobes, if present, growing even more than central lobe, 0–5-lobed; lobes erect, triangular or lanceolate, sometimes linear, short or medium length, arising above mid length, proximal bract apex acute, distal rounded, rarely central lobe shallowly toothed. Calyces proximally whitish or pale green, often aging purple, distally yellow, (13–) 15–18 mm; abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–7 mm, 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.2 mm, ca. 0% of calyx length; lobes curved, oblong, apex rounded to truncate, sometimes emarginate. Corollas straight or slightly curved, (15–) 17–23 mm; tube 8–11 mm; abaxial lip rarely exserted, beak exserted; beak adaxially green or yellow-green, 5–7 mm, margins yellow or yellow-green; abaxial lip ascending, deep green, slightly inflated, 2–3 mm, 20–30% as long as beak, apex rounded; teeth ascending, green, whitish, or yellow, 0.5–2 mm.

Phenology: Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat: Full sun or partial shade, outcrops and glades, forest edges, river bluffs, Ketona dolomite.
Elevation: 90–150 m.

Ala.

Discussion

Castilleja kraliana is restricted to dolomite glades in Bibb County, which is a local center of endemism near the Cahaba River. Castilleja kraliana has mostly entire, bright yellow bracts and calyces 13–18 mm, and differs from the related C. coccinea, which has deeply lobed and red, rarely yellow, bracts and calyces 17–28 mm.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa