Castilleja mollis

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Castilleja mollis
Castillejamollis.JPG
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. mollis
Binomial name
Castilleja mollis
Pennell

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. [1] [2] Its habitat is the coastal sage scrub around the windy sand dunes and bluffs.

Description

This wildflower is a perennial herb with many spreading, prostrate branches up to about 40 centimeters long. The plant is coated in woolly, tangled, sometimes glandular hairs that give it a gray-green tint. The leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long and oval. The inflorescence is up to 8 centimeters long and made up of fleshy green or yellow-green bracts. Between the bracts bloom the pale to bright yellow pouched flowers.

Like other Castilleja, this Castilleja mollis is hemiparasitic, attaching its roots to those of other plants to tap nutrients and water. The host plant for this Castilleja species is probably Menzies' goldenbush, Isocoma menziesii . [1] [3] Castilleja mollis is a federally listed endangered species.

Conservation

There are two known occurrences of the plant remaining on Santa Rosa Island. [3] It has become rare due to habitat destruction, mainly from the presence of domesticated and feral ungulates such as cattle, elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), and deer (Odocoileus hemionus). [3] These animals trample the soil, which compacts and degrades it. [1] Deer also tend to use patches of the plant as bedding. [1] Introduced plant species have also taken over the area. [3] The cattle and most of the other non-native animals have been removed, but many weeds remain, such as ice plant. [3] The plant depends on Menzies' goldenbush, which has also declined in the area, its habitat becoming fragmented. [1] Invasive grasses prevent the small Castilleja plants from establishing haustoria, its connections to the roots of the goldenbush. [1]

This Castilleja may hybridize with Castilleja affinis . [3]

A 2008 review of the species' status indicated that the plant has rebounded somewhat since the removal of the ungulates, but it is still vulnerable enough that it will not yet be downlisted from endangered status. [1]

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 affinis</i> Species of flowering plant

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

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

Castilleja attenuata is a species of Indian paintbrush, known by the common names valley tassels, attenuate Indian paintbrush, and narrowleaf Owl's-clover. It is native to western North America from British Columbia, through California, to Baja California, where it grows in grasslands and open woodland habitats.

<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.

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

Castilleja densiflora is a herbaceous flowering plant species known by the common names denseflower Indian paintbrush or white / denseflower owlclover. Like other members of the Indian paintbrushes, it is a root-parasite. It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in grassland and chaparral habitat. It is a variable species. It is generally 10 to 40 centimeters tall with linear or lance-shaped leaves up to 8 centimeters long, and with or without lobes. The inflorescence is as small as 3 centimeters or as long as 25 centimeters in length, and has bracts tipped in white to dull or bright pink or purple. Between the bracts appear the flowers, which are somewhat rounded and pouched, and white to yellow to pink or purple in color.

<i>Castilleja grisea</i> Species of flowering 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 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 parviflora</i> Species of flowering 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.

<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 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>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 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.

<i>Castilleja rhexiifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Soft-Leaved Paintbrush (Castilleja mollis) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. January 10, 2008.
  2. "Soft-leaved Paintbrush, Castilleja mollis". Calscape. California Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Castilleja mollis". NatureServe Explorer 2.0. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-25.