Difference between revisions of "Castilleja levisecta"

Revision as of 11:42, 16 April 2012

Photographer: Rod Gilbert

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom (unranked): Tracheobionta

Superdivision (unranked): Spermatophyta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass (unranked): Asteridae

Order: Scrophulariales

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Genus: Castilleja Mutis ex L. f.

Species: C. levisecta Greenm.

Description

General: Perennial, the stems several, unbranched, decumbent, 1-5 dm. tall, softly sticky-villous. Leaves: Leaves viscid-villous, the lower ones entire, linear-lanceolate, the upper ones oblong-ovate to oblong-obovate, with1-3 pairs of short, lateral lobes on the upper 1/3 of the blade. Flowers: Inflorescence straight and upright, becoming elongate, the flowers remote and hidden by the overlapping bracts; bracts about the width of the upper leaves, oblong, obtuse, puberulent, with 1-3 pairs of short, lateral lobes near the apex, golden yellow; calyx 15-18 mm. long, deeply cleft above and below, its primary lobes again divided into 2 linear segments; corolla 20-23 mm. long, the upper lip slender, about 3-4 times the length of the lower lip; stamens 4. Fruit: Capsule.

Bloom Period

April- September

Distribution

Puget Sound of Washington; Vancouver Island south to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The taxon is a regional endemic with a historic range west of the Cascade Mountain Range from the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada to Linn County, Oregon. In Washington, the species occurs in the Puget Trough physiographic province. The taxon is believed to be extirpated from the Willamette Valley physiographic province of Oregon. The southern-most extant occurrence of C. levisecta is in Thurston County, Washington.

Habitat

Meadows and prairies at low elevations. Often on glacially derived soils (Gamon et al 2000)

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: Pollinator food source (Evans et al 1984), hemiparasite – grows better with Festuca roemeri

Wildlife: Pollinator food source (Evans et al 1984)

Propagation

a) SEED PROPAGATION

Photo Gallery

References

http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=CALE27&display=31 http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CALE27 http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/cpc_viewprofile.asp?CPCNum=824

Media:Example.ogg===Seed=== Abbreviation: CALE

Seed sample from: 2010

Measurement: 1.4 x 0.7 x 0.6

Measurement range: L: 1.1 – 1.5, W: 0.5 - 0.9, D: 0.4 - 0.9

Shape: Seed is narrow at the hilium, widening at opposite end to create a cone like shape.

Color: Embryo surrounded by distinct honeycombed seed coat that is light tan and transparent. Inside, a golden brown, rice-shaped embryo is visible.

Surface: Seed is shiny and deeply honeycombed in texture.

Latitudinal cross section: elliptical

Longitudinal cross section: triangular