Distribution: Endemic to Mt. Rainier National Park and immediate vicinity in Washington.
Habitat: Moist subalpine meadows.
Flowers: July-August
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
Pollination: Bumblebees, bees, hummingbirds
Perennial herbs, the stems clustered, erect or ascending, unbranched, 1-1.5 dm. tall, with soft, sticky hairs.
Leaves alternate, all cauline, with soft, sticky hairs, the lower leaves entire, linear, the upper ones broader, often with a pair of short, lateral lobes.
Flowers in a spike, the bracts broader than the leaves, lanceolate and acute, with a pair of broad lateral lobes, purplish, with soft, sticky hairs; calyx yellow, 12-15 mm. long, deeply and equally divided, the 2 broad lobes again divided at the tip into 2 triangular segments 1 mm. long; corolla two-lipped, a little longer than the calyx, the 3-toothed lower lip 2/3 the length of the densely puberulent upper lip; stamens 4, attached above the middle of the corolla tube; stigma capitate, not exerted; ovary superior.
Capsule.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Castilleja cryptantha in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Castilleja cryptantha checklist entry
OregonFlora: Castilleja cryptantha information
E-Flora BC: Castilleja cryptantha atlas page
CalPhotos: Castilleja cryptantha photos