Castilleja plagiotoma

A. Gray

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 19: 93. 1883.

Common names: Mojave Desert paintbrush
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 646. Mentioned on page 565, 571, 575, 647.

Herbs, perennial, 2.3–5.3 (–6) dm; from a woody caudex; with a taproot. Stems several, erect to weakly ascending, often leaning on nearby shrubs, much-branched, often with short, leafy axillary shoots, hairs sparse, spreading, short or long, soft, branched or unbranched, eglandular. Leaves gray-green or green to purple to ± deep red, linear or linear-lanceolate, 2–5 cm, not fleshy, margins plane to ± wavy, flat or involute, 3–5 (–7) -lobed, apex acuminate to acute; lobes spreading-ascending, sometimes widely so, narrowly linear, apex acute or obtuse. Inflorescences 3–20 × 0.5–1.5 cm; bracts green throughout, sometimes tinged dull purple, proximal sometimes linear-lanceolate, distal or all bracts oblong, 3–5 (–7) -lobed; lobes spreading to ascending, linear to oblanceolate, short to long, proximal lobes arising near mid length, sometimes wavy-margined, central lobe apex rounded to truncate, lateral ones obtuse to rounded. Calyces light green, cream, or light yellow, often appearing white from dense white-woolly pubescence, 10–18 mm; abaxial clefts 5–6.5 mm, closed by intertwined hairs and appearing 2 mm deep, adaxial 2.2–4.2 mm, abaxial ca. 25% of calyx length, adaxial ca. 20% of calyx length, shallower (or appearing much shallower), than laterals, lateral 4.6–7.5 mm, ca. 50% of calyx length; lobes: abaxial segments broad, paddle-shaped, 7 mm, inner surface of abaxial segments densely white-woolly, apex rounded to broadly obtuse, adaxial narrowly triangular, 5 mm, apex acute. Corollas straight, 13–20 mm; tube 5–7 mm; beak short-exserted, sometimes shorter than abaxial calyx segments, adaxially yellow, rarely greenish, 7–10 mm; abaxial lip pale green to yellowish, reduced, 0.5–1.5 mm, 7–17% as long as beak; teeth reduced to apiculations, pale green to yellowish, 0.5–0.8 mm.


Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jul.
Habitat: Dry flats, rocky, sandy, or clayey slopes, ridges, sagebrush steppes, chaparral, desert scrub, pinyon woodlands.
Elevation: 200–2500 m.

Discussion

Castilleja plagiotoma is unique in the genus in the structure of its calyces, with the lateral clefts deeper than the median clefts. The relative lengths of the calyx lobes are also unique, with the abaxial lobes exceeding the adaxial lobes by 2–3 mm. The abaxial lobes also bear a dense indument of whitish, branched hairs. The uniformly greenish bracts are uncommon among perennial species of Castilleja. Castilleja plagiotoma is scattered in the western Mojave Desert and the hills adjacent to the southwestern San Joaquin Valley, California. While not of immediate conservation concern, this species is uncommon and increasingly threatened by recreational vehicles, livestock grazing, residential development, and resource extraction.

Castilleja plagiotoma is most often associated with and is likely parasitic on Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium, but it is also often observed with Artemisia tridentata or other species. It is a known larval host plant for the butterfly, Euphydryas editha subsp. erlichii.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Castilleja plagiotoma"
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.65 cm6.5 mm <br />0.0065 m <br />) +
pale green +  and yellowish +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
paddle--shaped +
0.46 cm4.6 mm <br />0.0046 m <br /> (0.75 cm7.5 mm <br />0.0075 m <br />) +
acute +, rounded +  and broadly obtuse +
J. Mark Egger +, Peter F. Zika +, Barbara L. Wilson +, Richard E. Brainerd +  and Nick Otting +
A. Gray +
short-exserted +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
not +, leathery +  and fleshy +
tinged;green +
3-5(-7)-lobed +  and oblong +
light yellow +, cream +  and light green +
2-lobed +, lobed +  and tubular +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
taprooted;fibrous-rooted or rhizomatous +
fleshy +  and woody +
Mojave Desert paintbrush +
purple +, pink +, red +, orange +, yellow +, white +, green +  and pale greenish +
divided +  and tubular +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
200–2500 m. +
spreading-hairy +  and glabrous +
2 +  and 1 +
indehiscent +, septicidal +, loculicidal +  and dehiscence +
Dry flats, rocky, sandy, or clayey slopes, ridges, sagebrush steppes, chaparral, desert scrub, pinyon woodlands. +
eglandular +, unbranched +  and branched +
intertwined +
stipitate-glandular +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
axillary +  and terminal +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
spiral +, whorled +, alternate +  and opposite +
green +  and purple +
deciduous +
basal +  and cauline +
linear-lanceolate;linear +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
not fleshy +
spreading +  and ascending +
3 (?) +, 2 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
linear +  and oblanceolate +
subequal +
short to long +
3-5(-7)-lobed +, plane +  and more or less wavy flat or involute +
tenuinucellate +  and unitegmic +
campylotropous-like +
Flowering Mar–Jul. +
linear-lanceolate +
Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts +
stramineous +
20 +  and 100 +
trapezoidal +, oblong-ovoid +, pyramidal +  and ovoid +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
non-secund +  and secund +
elongate +
subequal +
much-branched +
sprawling +  and prostrate +
aerial +  and subterranean +
leaning +, erect +  and weakly ascending +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
not fleshy +
2-lobed +  and entire +
Euchroma +  and Oncorhynchus +
Castilleja plagiotoma +
Castilleja +
species +
pale green +  and yellowish +
shallow;deep +
reduced +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +