Castilleja occidentalis

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Castilleja occidentalis
Western Yellow Paintbrush (Castilleja occidentalis) at Waterton Lakes National Park - Flickr - Jay Sturner.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Castilleja
Species:
C. occidentalis
Binomial name
Castilleja occidentalis

Castilleja occidentalis is a member of the genus Castilleja (paintbrush), commonly referred to as western Indian paintbrush. Like other members, it is a hemi-parasite.

Contents

Distribution

This species has a wide distribution, from the Rocky Mountains north to BC, Alberta and Montana (Glacier National Park) and south to Utah and New Mexico (but not known in Wyoming or Idaho) [1]

Habitat

The western paintbrush occurs in areas above [1] and below the treeline. It is found in dry places, favoring rocky soils and talus slopes. It has thin, lanceolate leaves (with occasionally lobed upper leaves) borne on woody stems. The bracts are pale yellow to nearly white. Along with the plants' habitat, this coloration aids identification. [2]

However, this paintbrush often occurs in fragile wet meadows, where it is vulnerable to trampling. Further, coloration can vary to red and purple with all colors between. [1]

Associated plants

The western paintbrush is often associated with tufted hairgrass ( Deschampsia caespitosa ), golden avens ( Geum rossii ), and Bellard kobresia ( Kobresia myosuroides )

Related Research Articles

<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 family Orobanchaceae. They are hemiparasitic on the roots of grasses and forbs. The generic name honors Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo.

<i>Castilleja indivisa</i>

Castilleja indivisa, commonly known as Texas Indian paintbrush or entireleaf Indian paintbrush, is a hemiparasitic annual wildflower native to Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma in the United States. There are historical records of the species formerly growing in Arkansas, and reports of naturalized populations in Florida and Alabama.

<i>Cornus sericea</i>

Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea, red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native throughout northern and western North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to Durango and Nuevo León in the west, and Illinois and Virginia in the east. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species Cornus alba. Other names include red brush, red willow, redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood.

<i>Castilleja neglecta</i>

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 exserta</i>

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 linariifolia</i>

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.

<i>Castilleja attenuata</i>

Castilleja attenuata is a species of Indian paintbrush, known by the common names valley tassels and attenuate Indian paintbrush.

<i>Castilleja latifolia</i>

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

<i>Castilleja nana</i>

Castilleja nana is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States from the Sierra Nevada of California east to Utah, where it grows in dry, rocky alpine habitat.

<i>Castilleja parviflora</i>

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>

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

<i>Castilleja levisecta</i>

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.

<i>Castilleja septentrionalis</i>

Castilleja septentrionalis is a species of Indian paintbrush known by several different common names, including pale painted cup, northern painted cup, pale Indian paintbrush, and Labrador Indian paintbrush. The scientific name "Castilleja pallida (L.) Spreng. var. septentrionalis (Lindl.) Gray" has also been used in the past to describe this species.

<i>Castilleja sessiliflora</i>

Castilleja sessiliflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common names downy Indian paintbrush and downy paintedcup. It is native to the Great Plains of North America from southern Canada, through the central United States, to northern Mexico. It occurs as far west as the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

<i>Kobresia simpliciuscula</i>

Kobresia simpliciuscula is a species of sedge known by the common names false sedge, simple bog sedge and simple kobresia. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Castilleja kaibabensis</i>

Castilleja kaibabensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common name Kaibab Plateau Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to the Kaibab Plateau of Coconino County, Arizona, in the United States.

Mount Harrison (Idaho)

Mount Harrison, at 9,265 feet (2,824 m) is a peak in the northern Albion Mountains of Cassia County in southern Idaho. Mount Harrison is located in north of Cache Peak, south of Burley, northeast of Oakley, and west of Malta in the Albion Division of the Minidoka Ranger District of Sawtooth National Forest. Mount Harrison is in the watershed of tributaries of the Snake River, which itself is a tributary of the Columbia River. The peak can be reached via a paved road that runs all the way to its summit. Lake Cleveland is located in the basin north of the peak, and a small unnamed lake is located in the basin southeast of the peak.

Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. 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 3 "Castilleja occidentalis". 13 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. "Scroph1". Larkspurbooks.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.