Castilleja minor is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known as thread-torch paintbrush or seep paintbrush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California and eastward to the Rocky Mountain states.
| Castilleja minor | |
|---|---|
| |
| var. minor | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Orobanchaceae |
| Genus: | Castilleja |
| Species: | C. minor
|
| Binomial name | |
| Castilleja minor (A.Gray) A.Gray
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| Varieties[2] | |
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Description
editCastilleja minor is annual plant that typically grows 20–100 centimeters (8–39 in) tall, but occasionally may reach as much as 1.5 meters (4.9 ft). It may have a short taproot or small fibrous root system.[3] The stems are usually without branches and sparsely covered in loose, pilose hairs, ones that are long and straight. Each plant will have either just a few stems or one alone.[4] Sometimes the hairs are shaggy and this characteristic is associated with Castilleja minor var. minor.[3]
The leaves of thread-torch paintbrush vary widely in size, from as short as 2 centimeters or as long as 10 cm,[3] and are just 2–5 millimeters wide near the base.[4] They also vary widely in color from purple to green and may have a little or a significant gray cast. They may be linear, narrow like a blade of grass, or lanceolate, shaped like a spear point with the widest part below the midpoint of the leaf.[3] The leaves have a soft texture and are not divided into lobes.[3][4]
The inflorescence is narrow,[5] 5–40 centimeters long and just 1–4 cm wide.[3] The flowers are also, long, narrow, and threadlike.[6]
Taxonomy
editCastilleja minor was first scientifically described by Asa Gray as a variety of Castilleja affinis as Castilleja affinis var. minor in 1859. In 1876 he published a revision of his previous classification, changing it to a species with its present name.[2]
Castilleja minor has four accepted varieties.[2]
- Castilleja minor var. exilis (A.Nelson) J.M.Egger
- Castilleja minor var. minor
- Castilleja minor var. spiralis (Jeps.) J.M.Egger
- Castilleja minor var. stenantha (A.Gray) J.M.Egger
Names
editIn English it is known by the common names of thread-torch paintbrush,[6] seep paintbrush,[3] or annual paintbrush.[7] In the early 1900s it was also known as small-flowered painted-cup.[8]
References
edit- ^ NatureServe (2024). "Castilleja minor". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Castilleja minor (A.Gray) A.Gray". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (6 November 2020). "Castilleja minor". Flora of North America. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Jr., Steve L.; 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. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. pp. 692–693. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Wetherwax, Margriet; Chuang, T.I.; Heckard, Lawrence R. (2012). "Castilleja minor". Jepson eFlora. University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b Niehaus, Theodore F. (1998). A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 250–251. ISBN 978-0-585-36531-2.
- ^ Keator, Glenn; Middlebrook, Alrie (2007). Designing California Native Gardens : The Plant Community Approach to Artful, Ecological Gardens. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23978-4.
- ^ Britton, Nathaniel Lord (1907). Manual of the Flora of the Northern States and Canada. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 840. Retrieved 28 September 2024.