Castilleja coccinea

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Castilleja coccinea
Castilleja coccinea Downs Prairie.jpg
Castilleja coccinea
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
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 paintbrush 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] It is similarly known by the common name scarlet paintbrush or scarlet Indian paintbrush, [6] [1] however other species such as Castilleja miniata are also known as this. [7] (See: scarlet paintbrush for additional species) Like Castilleja miniata, [8] it is occasionally known as red paintbrush. [9] It is also simply called painted-cup. [10] Regional names for the species include bloody warrior and bloody noses in Minnesota, election posies and wickackee in Massachusetts, fire pink and prairie-fire in Wisconsin, and nosebleed in Connecticut. [11] It is also called wickaawee and wickawee, [10] which is speculated to derive from an Algonquian word. [12]

Distribution and habitat

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

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, [13] Connecticut, [14] and Maryland, [15] 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. [16]

It is found in prairies, rocky glades, moist and open woodlands, thickets, and along streams. [17]

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. [18]

Though it can survive on its own, studies indicate a forty-fold growth increase when its roots parasitize those of another plant for nutrients. [19] It is primarily pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds who can transfer the pollen long distances between typically small and scattered populations of this plant.

References

  1. 1 2 3 NatureServe (30 January 2026). "Castilleja coccinea". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  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. ↑ Holloway, Joel Ellis (2005). Neill, Amanda (ed.). A Dictionary of Common Wildflowers of Texas & the Southern Great Plains. Fort Worth, Texas: TCU Press. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-87565-309-9. OCLC   61451157.
  7. ↑ Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. p. 692. ISBN   978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN   0161-1542. LCCN   2012949654. OCLC   859541992 . Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Sept, J. Duane (2002). Common Wildflowers of Washington & Oregon . Sechelt, British Columbia: Calypso Publishing. p. 262. ISBN   978-0-9730390-1-6. OCLC   49649317 . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (6 November 2020a) [In print 2019]. "Castilleja coccinea". Flora of North America . p. 598. ISBN   978-0-19-086851-2. OCLC   1101573420. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  10. 1 2 Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 849. ISBN   978-1-4822-5064-0. OCLC   874163087.
  11. ↑ Coffey, Timothy (1993). The History and Folklore of North American Wildflowers. New York: Facts on File. p. 213. ISBN   978-0-8160-2624-1. OCLC   26131756 . Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  12. ↑ "wickawee". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  13. ↑ "Botany Program - NY Natural Heritage Program". www.nynhp.org.
  14. ↑ "Endangered Threatened and Special Concern Plants". CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website.
  15. ↑ "Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants". Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
  16. ↑ "Reports - Wild Species: The General Status of Species in Canada". www.wildspecies.ca.
  17. ↑ "Castilleja coccinea - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org.
  18. ↑ Kim, Eun Sun; Zaya, David N.; Fant, Jeremie B.; Ashley, Mary V. (2019). "Reproductive trade-offs maintain bract color polymorphism in Scarlet Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)". PLOS ONE. 14 (1) e0209176. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1409176K. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209176 . PMC   6314579 . PMID   30601846.
  19. ↑ 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   978-0-8078-7172-0.
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