Castilleja cinerea

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Castilleja cinerea
Castillejacinerea.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Castilleja
Species:C. cinerea
Binomial name
Castilleja cinerea
A.Gray

Castilleja cinerea is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name ashgray Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to San Bernardino County, California, where it is known only from the San Bernardino Mountains. There are about 20 occurrences known. [1]

<i>Castilleja</i> A genus of flowering plants belonging to the broomrape family

Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes, northern Asia, and one species as far west as the Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia. These plants are classified in the broomrape family, Orobanchaceae. They are hemiparasitic on the roots of grasses and forbs. The generic name honors Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo.

Endemism ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

San Bernardino County, California County in California, United States

San Bernardino County, officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 2,035,210, making it the fifth-most populous county in California, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is San Bernardino.

Contents

Description

This is a perennial herb growing up to 15 centimeters tall and covered in a coat of ash-gray woolly hairs. The leaves are linear or narrowly lance-shaped and one or two centimeters long. The inflorescence is made up of fuzzy dull to bright reddish or purplish pink bracts between which emerge smaller yellowish to greenish flowers. The color of the inflorescence is influenced by the environment of the plant; those with more northern exposures tend to have yellowish flowers and those facing south have more reddish flowers. [2]

Inflorescence term used in botany

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.

Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture. Typically, they also look different from the parts of the flower, such as the petals or sepals. The state of having bracts is referred to as bracteate or bracteolate, and conversely the state of lacking them is referred to as ebracteate and ebracteolate, without bracts.

Like other Castilleja species, this plant parasitizes other species for water and nutrients; C. cinerea is generally found tapping buckwheats ( Eriogonum spp.) and sagebrushes ( Artemisia spp.). [2]

Parasitic plant type of plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant

A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirement from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are in almost every biome in the world. All parasitic plants have modified roots, called haustoria, which penetrates the host plants, connecting them to the conductive system – either the xylem, the phloem, or both. For example, plants like Striga or Rhinanthus connect only to the xylem, via xylem bridges (xylem-feeding). Alternately, plants like Cuscuta and Orobanche connect only to the phloem of the host (phloem-feeding). This provides them with the ability to extract water and nutrients from the host. Parasitic plants are classified depending on where the parasitic plant latches onto the host and the amount of nutrients it requires. Some parasitic plants are able to locate their host plants by detecting chemicals in the air or soil given off by host shoots or roots, respectively. About 4,500 species of parasitic plant in approximately 20 families of flowering plants are known.

<i>Eriogonum</i> genus of plants

Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers such as the California buckwheat.

<i>Artemisia</i> (genus) genus of plants

Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 and 400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush.

Habitat

Castilleja cinerea grows in several habitat types, including dry desert and sagebrush scrub, woodland, and coniferous forest. It is also known from the unique quartzite pebble plain habitat in these mountains, which it shares with other endemics such as Arenaria ursina . [2]

Sagebrush

Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceus species of plants in the genus Artemisia. The best known sagebrush is the shrub Artemisia tridentata. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.

Temperate coniferous forest biome

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needleleaf trees dominate, while others are home primarily to broadleaf evergreen trees or a mix of both tree types. A separate habitat type, the tropical coniferous forests, occurs in more tropical climates.

Quartzite hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone

Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to grey, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink and red due to varying amounts of iron oxide (Fe2O3). Other colors, such as yellow, green, blue and orange, are due to other minerals.

Threats

The Castilleja cinerea plant is a federally listed threatened species. Threats to its survival include development of its habitat for human use, recreation, off-road vehicles, logging, grazing, mining, and invasive species of plants. [1] [3]

Off-road vehicle

An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks. Other vehicles that do not travel public streets or highways are generally termed off-highway vehicles, including tractors, forklifts, cranes, backhoes, bulldozers, and golf carts.

Invasive species Organism occurring in a new habitat

An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location, and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.

Related Research Articles

<i>Castilleja neglecta</i> species of plant

The Tiburon paintbrush or Tiburon Indian paintbrush is an endangered taxon of flowering plant in the broomrape family, Orobanchaceae. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area in California in the United States, where it occurs in Marin, Napa, and Santa Clara Counties.

<i>Castilleja minor</i> species of plant

Castilleja minor is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name lesser Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja affinis</i> species of plant

Castilleja affinis is a species of Castilleja known by the common name coast Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja brevistyla</i> species of plant

Castilleja brevistyla is a species of Castilleja known by the common name shortstyle Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja campestris</i> species of plant

Castilleja campestris is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name vernal pool Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and southern Oregon, where it grows in seasonally moist habitat, especially vernal pools.

<i>Castilleja foliolosa</i> species of plant

Castilleja foliolosa is a species of Indian paintbrush, known by the common names woolly Indian paintbrush and Texas Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja grisea</i> species of plant

Castilleja grisea is a rare species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. San Clemente Island is owned by the US Navy so the Navy is involved in a management program to recover this species.

Castilleja lasiorhyncha is a species of Indian paintbrush is endemic to southern California known by the common name San Bernardino Mountains Indian paintbrush. Most of the plant's range is in the San Bernardino Mountains, where it grows in forests and meadows.

<i>Castilleja lineariiloba</i> species of plant

Castilleja lineariiloba is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name sagebrush Indian paintbrush that is endemic to the grasslands of the Sierra Nevada foothills in California.

<i>Castilleja mendocinensis</i> species of plant

Castilleja mendocinensis is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name Mendocino Coast Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja mollis</i> species of plant

Castilleja mollis is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name softleaf Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it is currently known only from Santa Rosa Island. An occurrence was once noted on San Miguel Island, but the plant has not been found there since 1938. Its habitat is the coastal sage scrub around the windy sand dunes and bluffs.

<i>Castilleja parviflora</i> species of plant

Castilleja parviflora is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name mountain Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California, where it grows in high mountain habitat, including areas of alpine climate.

Castilleja pilosa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name parrothead Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States from California to Wyoming, where it grows in mountain and plateau habitat across the Great Basin and surrounding regions. It is known from sagebrush scrub to high mountains in alpine climates.

Castilleja schizotricha is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name splithair Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja subinclusa</i> species of plant

Castilleja subinclusa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common names longleaf Indian paintbrush and Franciscan paint brush.

<i>Chorizanthe xanti</i> species of plant

Chorizanthe xanti is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Riverside spineflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in several of the mountain ranges from the Sierra Nevada to the Southern California Transverse Ranges in forest, woodland, and scrub habitats.

<i>Castilleja pruinosa</i> species of plant

Castilleja pruinosa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name frosted Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in several types of forested habitat.

<i>Castilleja christii</i> species of plant

Castilleja christii is a rare species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name Christ's Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to Idaho in the United States, where there is a single population on Mount Harrison in the Albion Mountains in the Minidoka Ranger District of Sawtooth National Forest. It is one of Idaho's rarest plants.

Castilleja aquariensis is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name Aquarius Plateau Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it occurs on the Aquarius Plateau, including Boulder Mountain. All occurrences are within the bounds of Dixie National Forest.

Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family. It was formally described in 2013 and so far it is known only from a small population in the state of Montana, in the Northwestern United States.

References

  1. 1 2 The Nature Conservancy
  2. 1 2 3 Forest Service Fire Ecology
  3. ↑ California Native Plants Inventory
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