(1958), six species of Castilleja were recorded from San Francisco. chrymactis, is now presumed extinct.As reported in Howell, et al. California is host to some 68 taxa, including seven federal- and/or state-listed taxa, six on CNPS List 1B, two on CNPS List 2 and five on CNPS List 4. The notoriously challenging taxonomy of this genus is believed to be due to the tremendous variability within and between populations and a high degree of hybridization and polyploidy, e.g., possessing more than two paired sets of chromosomes. As described by Peter Baye, the taxonomy of coastal Indian paintbrush populations is complex (USFWS 2001, see page 111). Leaves are alternate, sessile, and entire to deeply divided into long linear lobes.Įxcept for one Asian species, the paintbrushes are restricted to the New World, with a center of diversity in western North America. The irregular tubes have a straight, beak-like upper tip and a much-reduced lower lip with three teeth or swollen pouches. The actual corollas of Castilleja are typical “scroph” flowers, consisting of fused, bilateral tubes. While these bracts, which subtend the terminal spike-like inflorescences, are commonly bright red, they also come in shades of orange, yellow, purple, violet, rose and even white and green. The genus Castilleja is one of those trickster plants with brightly colored bracts easily mistaken for petals. Although some Castilleja species are capable of surviving and reproducing in the greenhouse without a host, they are more vigorous and more likely to flower when a host plant is available. These “hemiparasites” make parasitic connections to the roots of a wide variety of angiosperm host plants by inserting finger-like projections called haustoria, absorbing water and nutrients. Although the above-ground growth of paintbrushes is green and self-supporting, like any proper plant, members of the genus are actually facultative or partial parasites. Named after the Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), the genus Castilleja is comprised of some 200 species of annuals and subshrubs. I won’t pretend to understand the reasons, and I can neither defend nor criticize the wisdom of these changes. The paintbrushes, along with the bird’s-beaks (Cordylanthus), owl’s clover (Orthocarpus), lousewort (Pedicularis), and Johnny-tuck (Tryphysaria) have been moved to the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). Like the subject of my previous column (Mimulus cardinalis), the genus Castilleja has also been separated from the familiar figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Whether on California’s scenic coastline, in the Sierra or the Mojave Desert, Indian paintbrush always elicits special attention. Even still, after all these years of exploring hills and dales, there’s one group of wildflowers of which I cannot resist stopping to photograph.
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