Castilleja coccinea

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Castilleja coccinea
Castilleja coccinea Downs Prairie.jpg
Castilleja coccinea
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Castilleja
Species:
C. coccinea
Binomial name
Castilleja coccinea

Castilleja coccinea, commonly known as scarlet Indian paintbrush [1] or scarlet painted-cup, [2] is a biennial flowering plant in the Orobanchaceae (broomrape) family. It is usually found in prairies, rocky glades, moist and open woodlands, thickets, and along streams in central and eastern North America.

Contents

Description

It is an upright, hairy, 1-to-7-decimeter (3.9 to 27.6 in) tall hemiparasitic plant. In its first year, the plant appears as a basal rosette, and in the second year the stem, usually unbranched, rises from the rosette. The basal leaves are oblong and mostly entire, and usually die before the flowers appear. The alternate stem leaves are deeply and irregularly lobed and measure up to 8 cm (3 in) long. The common names for this plant reflect the showy red bracts, inside of which is the actual greenish-yellow corolla ("flower"). [3]

Castilleja coccinea can be distinguished from other Castilleja of the southeastern US because it has a 2-to-3.5-millimeter (0.08 to 0.14 in) long, thin yellowish or orangish lip on the corolla, the inflorescence bracts are deeply lobed, and the basal rosettes of leaves are usually well-developed. [4]

Etymology

The genus name Castilleja is from the 18th-century Spanish botanist, Domingo Castillejo. The specific epithet coccinea is Latin for 'red'. [5]

Distribution and habitat

C. coccinea is native throughout the central and eastern United States, from Oklahoma to the west, Florida to the south, Maine to the east, and the Canadian border to the north. It is listed as endangered in New York, [6] Connecticut, [7] and Maryland, [8] It is critically imperiled in New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, presumed extirpated in Maine and new Hampshire, and possibly extirpated in Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. [1] It is native in Canada in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, although it is critically imperiled in Saskatchewan. [9]

It is found in prairies, rocky glades, moist and open woodlands, thickets, and along streams. [10]

Yellow color form in the Ozarks of Arkansas Castilleja coccinea yellow.jpg
Yellow color form in the Ozarks of Arkansas

Ecology

C. coccinea have color polymorphism, which means that they can be yellow or scarlet in color, and this depends on the availability of pollinators such as bees. When pollinators are present, the scarlet C. coccinea tend to have a higher reproductive output, as they have higher seed and fruit set. On the other hand, the yellow C.coccinea would have a higher reproductive output when pollinators are scarce. [11]

Though it can survive on its own, studies indicate a forty-fold growth increase when its roots parasitize those of another plant for nutrients. [12] It is primarily pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds who can transfer the pollen long distances between typically small and scattered populations of this plant.

Related Research Articles

<i>Castilleja exserta</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja exserta is a species of plant in the genus Castilleja which includes the Indian paintbrushes. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja angustifolia is a species of wildflower known by the common names northwestern Indian paintbrush and desert Indian paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America. It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions.

<i>Castilleja ambigua</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja ambigua is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name Johnny-nip. It is native to western part of North America from British Columbia to California, where its commonly found growing along the salt marshes and scrubs of the coast.

<i>Castilleja campestris</i> Species of flowering 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 lineariloba</i> Plant species in the broomrape family

Castilleja lineariloba is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name thin-lobed owl’s clover that is endemic to the grasslands of the Sierra Nevada foothills in California.

<i>Castilleja miniata</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja miniata is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name giant red Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Ontario to California to New Mexico, where it grows usually in moist places in a wide variety of habitat types.

<i>Castilleja mollis</i> Species of flowering 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 subinclusa</i> Species of flowering plant

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

<i>Castilleja pruinosa</i> Species of flowering 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 levisecta</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja levisecta is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common name golden paintbrush, or golden Indian paintbrush, listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. It is native to British Columbia and Washington, where it is known from eleven remaining populations. It occurred in Oregon but all natural occurrences there have been extirpated. It has been reintroduced to a few areas in Oregon, but it remains to be seen if the plants will survive. The plant is a federally listed endangered species of Canada and was listed as threatened in the United States in 1997. On June 30, 2021, the plant was proposed for delisting due to recovery. Effective August 18, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a rule removing golden paintbrush from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants

<i>Castilleja septentrionalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja septentrionalis is a species of Indian paintbrush known by several common names, including northern paintbrush, sulfur paintbrush, and pale painted cup. There is taxonomic disagreement as to if it is one species widely distributed in mountain and alpine environments of North America or if there is a second species, Castilleja sulphurea, in the Rocky Mountains.

<i>Penstemon canescens</i> Plant species in the plantain family

Penstemon canescens, commonly known as the gray beardtongue or Appalachian beardtongue, is a species of penstemon in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to woodlands, forest edges, and roadsides of the southeastern United States and flowers May through July. It is a perennial herb producing stems reaching 80 cm (31 in) in maximum height.

<i>Castilleja integra</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja integra, with the common names orange paintbrush, Southwestern paintbrush, and wholeleaf paintbrush, is a partially parasitic herbaceous perennial plant native to the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The species produces a relatively large amount of nectar and is attractive to hummingbirds. It is better suited to cultivation than most other species in the paintbrush genus (Castilleja) and is therefore used in xeriscape gardens and naturalistic meadows, even outside its native range.

Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is commonly known as Kerry's Indian paintbrush or Kerry’spaintbrush. 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.

<i>Leavenworthia crassa</i> Species of flowering plant

Leavenworthia crassa is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, known commonly as the fleshy-fruit gladecress. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it occurs in only two counties. It is "likely one of the most imperiled plant species in the Southeast," and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species in 2014.

Castilleja rubida, commonly called the purple alpine paintbrush or Wallowa alpine paintbrush, is a species of Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja kraliana</i> Species of plant

Castilleja kraliana, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common names Cahaba paintbrush or Cahaba Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja rhexiifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja rhexiifolia, commonly called rosy paintbrush, subalpine paintbrush, or rhexia-leaved paintbrush, is a species of plant in Orobanchaceae, commonly known as the broomrape family. They are a common flower found in moist habitats near or above timberline in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Like most members of the Castilleja genus, they are partially parasitic plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria's owl-clover</span> Species of plant

Castilleja victoriae is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common names Victoria's owl-clover and Victoria's paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja lineata</i> Species of plant in the paintbrush flower genus

Castilleja lineata, commonly known as marshmeadow paintbrush or linearlobe paintbrush, is an uncommon species that largely grows in the mountains of northern New Mexico, but is also found in small areas of neighboring Colorado and Arizona. It was not scientifically described until 1901 and is little studied.

References

  1. 1 2 "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.
  2. "Castilleja coccinea (scarlet painted-cup): Go Botany". gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org.
  3. "Castilleja coccinea (Indian Paintbrush): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info.
  4. Weakley, Alan (2011). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States (Working draft ed.). Chapel Hill, NC (University of North Carolina): Not yet published. p. 843.
  5. Denison, Edgar (2017). Missouri Wildflowers (Sixth ed.). Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. p. 112. ISBN   978-1-887247-59-7.
  6. "Botany Program - NY Natural Heritage Program". www.nynhp.org.
  7. "Endangered Threatened and Special Concern Plants". CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website.
  8. "Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants". Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
  9. "Reports - Wild Species: The General Status of Species in Canada". www.wildspecies.ca.
  10. "Castilleja coccinea - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org.
  11. Kim, E. S., D. N. Zaya, J. B. Fant, and M. V. Ashley. "Reproductive trade-offs maintain bract color polymorphism in Scarlet Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)". PLoS ONE 14: e0209176. doi : 10.1371.
  12. Spira, Timothy P. (2011). Wildflowers & plant communities of the southern Appalachian Mountains & Piedmont: a naturalist's guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, & Georgia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 345. ISBN   9780807871720.