Cliff paintbrush (Castilleja rupicola) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 5

Species information

COSEWIC Status Report
on the
Cliff Paintbrush
Castilleja rupicola
in Canada
2005

Name and classification

Scientific name:
Castilleja rupicola Piper Footnote 1
Synonyms:
Castilleja andrewsii Henderson
Common name:
Cliff paintbrush
Family:
Orobanchaceae (broom-rape family)
Major plant group:
Dicot flowering plant

Description

Castilleja rupicola Piper is a member of a genus of about 150-200 species, occurring mostly in western North America but also found in northern Asia and southern South America (Ownbey 1959). Twenty species occur in British Columbia and 24 in Canada (Scoggan 1979, Pojar 2000). This species was first collected in Canada on Mt. Cheam in 1899 by F. Anderson.

Castilleja rupicola is a perennial herb from a somewhat woody stem-base (Pojar 2000, Figure 1). The several stems are clustered, ascending to erect, 10-20 cm tall, unbranched and thinly long-soft-hairy with crinkly hairs. The leaves are alternate and divided into 3 to 5 (7) linear, spreading lobes, or rarely the lowermost entire. The finely long-soft-hairy lateral lobes are not much narrower than the mid-blade. The inflorescence is a prominently bracted terminal spike that is compact and relatively few-flowered. The bright scarlet or crimson bracts are mostly deeply 5-lobed, much shorter than the flowers, minutely hairy and long-soft-hairy. The corollas are greenish, 25-35 (45) mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip beak-like, short-hairy, about equalling or slightly longer than the tube and much longer than the thickened, 3-toothed lower lip. The calyces are long-hairy, 15-25 mm long and deeply 2-lobed, these primary lobes are again divided into 2 blunt or sharp, 1-5 mm long segments. There are four stamens. The fruits consist of capsules with many loose and net-veined seeds.

Castilleja rupicola is a well-defined species that is part of the Parviflorae complex. It is distinguished from most other members of the genus in British Columbia by its bright scarlet or crimson bracts that are mostly deeply 5-lobed. Castilleja parviflora, a related species growing in the same area, usually has purple to pinkish or white bracts that are 3-lobed well above the middle. Another species, Castilleja rhexifolia, found in the same area, may also have crimson bracts but these are unlobed.


Figure 1. lllustration of Castilleja rupicola: flower and subtending bract (left); plant growth form (right).

lllustration of Castilleja rupicola

Drawing by Elizabeth J. Steven in Pojar 2000, by permission.

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