Castilleja grisea

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Castilleja grisea
Castilleja grisea.jpg
Status ESA DL.svg
Delisted (ESA) [1]
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Castilleja
Species:
C. grisea
Binomial name
Castilleja grisea
Dunkle
Synonyms [2]
  • Castilleja hololeuca subsp. grisea (Dunkle) Munz

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.

Contents

Description

The San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush is a perennial herb coated densely in long gray hairs. The highly branching stem grows 40 to 60 centimeters tall and bears linear leaves each a few centimeters long. The inflorescence is made up of layers of bracts one to two centimeters long, gray-green in color at the bases and tipped with greenish yellow. Between the bracts emerge dull yellow pouched flowers. The fruit is a capsule about a centimeter long containing tiny seeds with netted surfaces.

Distribution

This species was once considered to be "relatively common" on its home island. [3] Since then the habitat has been severely degraded, mainly by feral goats which were introduced there. [3] [4] The island was also used for grazing sheep and cattle, and some feral pigs were present. [3] The animals may have eaten the plant at times, but they mainly damaged the land by trampling the soil, which led to soil compaction, loss of topsoil, and erosion. [3] The introduction of exotic plant species such as ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus), wild oat (Avena barbata), and red brome (Bromus madritensis rubus) also degraded the habitat. [3]

Due to steep terrain of San Clemente Island the exact abundance of Castilleja grisea is not currently known. Recent surveys have discovered new populations of this species. Surveys in 2007 estimate more than 10,000 plants existing. [3] This plant has been a federally listed endangered species since 1977, when it was one of the first species to be designated so. [5] The plant's population had been drastically reduced by the activity of the feral goats. [5] Its populations has increased at least ten-fold since the removal of these non-native herbivores. The species has recovered so well through management programs by the Navy, it was recommended for downlisting during the last review conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. [5] [6] Remaining threats include erosion, invasive grasses, and wildfire from military exercises. [3]

The species has a relatively high genetic variability for an uncommon island endemic. [3] This and its steady recovery from low numbers give an optimistic outlook for the species' recovery. [3]

Related Research Articles

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

The Tiburon paintbrush or Tiburon Indian paintbrush is an endangered taxon of flowering plant in the 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 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 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 cinerea</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

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 latifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja latifolia is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name Monterey Indian paintbrush.

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

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

<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 schizotricha</i> Species of plant

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

<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>Lithophragma maximum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma maximum, known by the common name San Clemente Island woodland star, is a rare species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the eight Channel Islands of California. It is known from only about four kilometers of rocky coastal cliffs on the edge of the island. The plant was thought to be extinct until a few specimens were rediscovered in 1979. Only 200 individuals were tallied in a 1996 survey. In 1997 the plant was listed as an endangered species on the federal level.

<i>Malacothamnus clementinus</i> Species of flowering plant

Malacothamnus clementinus is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name San Clemente Island bushmallow. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it is known from fewer than ten occurrences in the steep, rocky seaside canyons.

<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.

Sanicula mariversa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name Waianae Range black-snakeroot. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the Waianae Mountains on the island of Oahu. It is threatened by the degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

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

Castilleja christii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae 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 family Orobanchaceae 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 salsuginosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common name Monte Neva Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known from two populations, one in White Pine County and another in Eureka County. The two occurrences of this plant are located about 83 miles (134 km) apart within the Great Basin. There are only about 275 individuals.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Castilleja grisea". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  2. "Castilleja grisea". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 USFWS. Castilleja grisea Five-year Review. September, 2007.
  4. The Nature Conservancy
  5. 1 2 3 Center for Plant Conservation Archived 2009-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
  6. California Native Plant Society Profile