Castilleja, commonly known as paintbrush, 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.
Junonia coenia, known as the common buckeye or buckeye, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Its range covers much of North America and some of Central America, including most of the eastern half of the US, the lower to middle Midwest, the Southwest, southern Canada, and Mexico. Its habitat is open areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. Its original ancestry has been traced to Africa, which then experiences divergence in Asia. The species Junonia grisea, the gray buckeye, is found west of the Rocky Mountains and was formerly a subspecies of Junonia coenia.
Umbrella species are species selected for making conservation-related decisions, typically because protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat. Species conservation can be subjective because it is hard to determine the status of many species. The umbrella species is often either a flagship species whose conservation benefits other species or a keystone species which may be targeted for conservation due to its impact on an ecosystem. Umbrella species can be used to help select the locations of potential reserves, find the minimum size of these conservation areas or reserves, and to determine the composition, structure, and processes of ecosystems.
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.
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.
Orthocarpus, or owl's-clover, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (broomrapes). They are native to North America. A number of species formerly included in Orthocarpus have been transferred to the genus Castilleja, which includes the plants commonly known as Indian paintbrush. Plants of the genus are generally less than 30 centimetres (1 ft) in height.
Castilleja linariifolia is a perennial plant, native to the United States and is the state flower of Wyoming. It has a number of common names including Wyoming Indian paintbrush, narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, desert paintbrush, Wyoming desert paintbrush, Wyoming paintbrush, linaria-leaved Indian Paintbrush, and Indian paintbrush.
The variable checkerspot or Chalcedon checkerspot is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western North America, where its range stretches from Alaska in the north to Baja California in the south and extends east through the Rocky Mountains into Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming. The butterfly is usually brown or black with extensive white and yellow checkering and some red coloration on the dorsal wing. Adult wingspan is 3.2–5.7 cm (1.3–2.2 in). Adult butterflies feed on nectar from flowers while larvae feed on a variety of plants including snowberry (Symphoricarpos), paintbrush (Castilleja), Buddleja, Diplacus aurantiacus and Scrophularia californica.
Chlosyne nycteis, the silvery checkerspot, is a species of Nymphalinae butterfly that occurs in North America. It is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut and Maine, and is believed extirpated in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Edith's checkerspot is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is a resident species of western North America and among the subspecies, entomologists have long been intrigued by their many phenotypic variations in coloration, wing length, and overall body size. Most populations are monophagous and rely on plants including Plantago erecta and Orthocarpus densiflorus as their host species in developing from eggs through to larvae, pupae, and mature butterflies. Males exhibit polygyny whereas females rarely mate more than once. Males devote most of their attention to mate acquisition, and such mate locating strategies such as hilltopping behavior have developed. Climate change and habitat destruction have impacted certain subspecies. Three subspecies in particular, Euphydryas editha quino, Euphydryas editha bayensis and Euphydryas editha taylori, are currently under protection via the Endangered Species Act.
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
Euphydryas editha taylori, the Whulge checkerspot or Taylor's checkerspot, is a butterfly native to an area of the northwestern United States and Vancouver Island.
Chlosyne leanira, the leanira checkerspot, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North America from western Oregon south to California, Nevada, Utah and western Colorado, as well as Baja California. The wingspan is 33–40 mm. Generally, females are larger than males, but males have a more apparent red color to their wings.
The Bay checkerspot is a butterfly endemic to the San Francisco Bay region of the U.S. state of California. It is a federally threatened species, as a subspecies of Euphydryas editha.
Assisted migration is "the intentional establishment of populations or meta-populations beyond the boundary of a species' historic range for the purpose of tracking suitable habitats through a period of changing climate...." It is therefore a nature conservation tactic by which plants or animals are intentionally moved to geographic locations better suited to their present or future habitat needs and climate tolerances — and to which they are unable to migrate or disperse on their own.
Castilleja integra, with the common names orange paintbrush, Southwestern paintbrush, and wholeleaf paintbrush, is an 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 that most other species in the paintbrush genus (Castilleja) and is therefor 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.
Tritrophic interactions in plant defense against herbivory describe the ecological impacts of three trophic levels on each other: the plant, the herbivore, and its natural enemies. They may also be called multitrophic interactions when further trophic levels, such as soil microbes, endophytes, or hyperparasitoids are considered. Tritrophic interactions join pollination and seed dispersal as vital biological functions which plants perform via cooperation with animals.
Castilleja elmeri is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae with the common name Elmer's paintbrush. As with most Castilleja species, this is a facultative root hemiparasite and will usually be seen growing close to a host plant.
Puget prairie, also known as South Sound prairie or South Puget Sound prairie, is an endangered type of prairie found along the southern coast of the Puget Sound in northwestern Washington, in the United States. It is home to many endemic species, and is threatened greatly, with under 10% of the native prairie remaining. The prairie was formed due to receding glaciers from the last ice age, which left behind large areas of drained and gravelly soil. Puget prairie once covered almost 150,000 acres of modern Washington, but due to suppression of natural and controlled fires, encroachment of non-native plants, and human development, it receded to its modern size, far smaller than its pre-contact range.
