Cliff Paintbrush Castilleja Rupicola
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COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Cliff Paintbrush Castilleja rupicola in Canada THREATENED 2005 COSEWIC COSEPAC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF COMITÉ SUR LA SITUATION ENDANGERED WILDLIFE DES ESPÈCES EN PÉRIL IN CANADA AU CANADA COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC 2005. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the cliff paintbrush Castilleja rupicola in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 18 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Production note: COSEWIC acknowledges the late George W. Douglas and also Ms. Shyanne J. Smith for writing the status report on the cliff paintbrush Castilleja rupicola. This status report was produced with the initiative and funding of the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. The COSEWIC status report review was overseen by Erich Haber, co-chair (vascular plants) of the COSEWIC Plants and Lichens Specialist Subcommittee, with input from members of COSEWIC. That review may have resulted in changes and additions to the initial version of the report. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: (819) 997-4991 / (819) 953-3215 Fax: (819) 994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Ếgalement disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la castilléjie des rochers (Castilleja rupicola) au Canada. Cover illustration: Cliff paintbrush — Line drawing by Elizabeth J. Steven in Pojar 2000, by permission. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2005 Catalogue No. CW69-14/430-2005E-PDF ISBN 0-662-40579-X HTML: CW69-14/430-2005E-HTML 0-662-40580-3 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – May 2005 Common name Cliff Paintbrush Scientific name Castilleja rupicola Status Threatened Reason for designation A perennial of restricted geographical occurrence found on cliffs, rock outcrops and ridges at high elevations. The small, fragmented, populations consist of scattered individuals, likely fewer than 250 plants, which are exceptionally vulnerable to stochastic events. Occurrence British Columbia Status history Designated Threatened in May 2005. Assessment is based on a new status report. iii COSEWIC Executive Summary Cliff Paintbrush Castilleja rupicola Species information Cliff paintbrush (Castilleja rupicola) is a perennial herb that grows up to 20 cm tall. The alternate leaves usually have 3 to 5 linear, spreading lobes. The inflorescence consists of a dense terminal spike consisting of small flowers surrounded by prominent and brightly coloured bracts (specialized leafy structures). The bright scarlet or crimson bracts are mostly deeply 5-lobed and much shorter than the greenish flowers. Distribution Castilleja rupicola ranges from southwestern British Columbia south to central Oregon. In Canada, the species is known only from the Chilliwack and Skagit river drainages in the Cascade Mountains of southwestern British Columbia and one historic site in the southern Coast Mountains. Habitat The species occurs on gravelly or stony soils, often in crevices on cliffs, rock outcrops and ridges in the subalpine and alpine zones. Vegetative cover in these habitats is sparse, usually less than 10% cover. On some subalpine and alpine slopes, C. rupicola occurs in gravelly openings in the Phyllodoce empetriformis-Cassiope mertensiana plant community. Biology Little information is available on the biology of Castilleja rupicola in British Columbia. Only basic reproductive facts have been compiled on the species. It is believed that most, if not all, Castilleja species require cross-pollination to set seed. Many species appear to be pollinated by hummingbirds, and bees may be important pollinators of other species. Seed production is likely to be of critical importance to Castilleja rupicola because it does not appear to be capable of reproducing by any other means. Short-range dispersal is likely by local scattering of seeds from the capsules by wind, birds and small mammals. iv As with other species of Castilleja, it is likely that C. rupicola is a facultative parasite on the roots of other species. An examination of the roots indicate that Castilleja species form special root-like connections called haustoria that attach to the roots of other plants, including other Castilleja plants (although they exhibit reduced vigour when grown with members of the same genus). These haustoria enable the parasitic plant to obtain supplementary nourishment from the host plant. Population sizes and trends A total of 15 historical and extant populations have been documented. There are three recently surveyed populations of Castilleja rupicola in the Skagit River valley in southwestern British Columbia. Eleven other records of the species, documented between 1901 and 1999, are known from both the Skagit and Chilliwack River valleys. A 1912 collection is also known from Mount Brunswick in the southern Coast Mountains. All of the latter 12 collections have virtually no information on population sizes. The three recently confirmed populations, observed in 2003, occur over a distance of 12.5 km. They range in size from one to five m² and number from one to three plants. Short- and long-term trends for these populations are unknown but can be expected to vary depending on the life span of the plants. Also, since the plants apparently only occur in small numbers, the success of seed germination and seedling survival will play a major role in these trends. Limiting factors and threats There are no major threats to populations of Castilleja rupicola at this time. However, if climate change predictions of higher global temperatures develop, it is possible that the subalpine/alpine habitats could be affected. It is not possible, at this time, to predict what specific changes to the habitat would occur. Special significance of the species Populations of C. rupicola in British Columbia are unique in that they are at the northern extent of their geographic range. This species is globally rare and has a relatively small global range consisting of less than 100 populations. Although no information on this species was found in a major ethnobotany database, other species of Castilleja are used extensively by Aboriginal peoples in North America. Existing protection or other status designations Castilleja rupicola is not covered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Endangered Species Act (USA) or the IUCN Red Data Book. Globally, C. rupicola has a rank of G2G3 (imperiled/vulnerable). Provincially, C. rupicola is ranked by the Conservation Data Centre as S2 (imperiled) and appears on the British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management’s Red List. v There is currently no specific endangered species legislation in place for the protection of vascular plants in British Columbia that have been given this S2 rank. Some of the populations of C. rupicola in British Columbia, however, are protected by the Provincial Park Act. vi COSEWIC HISTORY The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process. COSEWIC MANDATE The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens. COSEWIC MEMBERSHIP COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government members and the co-chairs of the species specialist and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittees. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species. DEFINITIONS (NOVEMBER 2004) Wildlife Species A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and it is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years. Extinct (X) A wildlife species that no longer exists. Extirpated (XT) A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere. Endangered (E) A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened (T) A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not