Castilleja in Utah, by David E
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ROCK GARDEN VOLUME 53 NUMBER 4 FALL 1995 COVER: Juniperus osteosperma by Dick Van Reyper of Park City, Utah All Material Copyright © 1995 North American Rock Garden Society ROCK GARDEN QUARTERLY BULLETIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY formerly Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society VOLUME 53 NUMBER 4 FALL 1995 FEATURES The Genus Castilleja in Utah, by David E. Joyner 251 Red Canyon, Utah: Geology and Plants, by Alyce M. Hreha 259 Limber Pine Odyssey, by Richard Hildreth 269 Garden Passion the Englishes' Way, by Marv Poulson 275 A Garden in Park City, by Dick Van Reyper 285 Rock Garden Cacti Native to Utah, by Marv Poulson 289 New Zealand Gardens, by Ruby Weinberg 293 Day Hikes to Alpine Areas in Utah and Vicinity, by William H. King 307 DEPARTMENTS Awards 329 Book Reviews 334 Castilleja scabrida 250 ROCK GARDEN QUARTERLY VOL. 53(4) THE GENUS CASTILLEJA IN UTAH by David E. Joyner In The Legend of the Indian There on the ground you will find Paintbrush as retold by Tomie dePaola, what you need." The next evening a small Indian boy, called Little Little Gopher raced to the top of a Gopher, who was unable to physically nearby hill where, as the voice had compete with the larger and stronger predicted, he found small brushes boys in his clan, was encouraged by filled with paint. Little Gopher began the tribe's shaman to define his own to paint quickly and surely, using one destiny by employing his artistic tal• brush, then another. He had found the ents. Inspired by the prophecies of the colors of the sunset. shaman, the boy contributed to the He carried his painting down to the prosperity of the tribe by illustrating circle of the People, leaving the brush• the great hunts and exploits of his peo• es on the hillside. And the next day, ple. Although creative in his work, he when the People awoke, the hill was was unable, however, to fulfill a ablaze with color, for the brushes had "dream-vision" that came to him one taken root in the earth and multiplied evening, a vision in which a young into plants of brilliant reds, oranges Indian maiden said, "Find a buckskin and yellows." as white as this. Keep it and one day you will paint a picture that is as pure Form and Function as the colors in the evening sky." Little Indian paintbrushes (Castilleja) are Gopher found a white buckskin, but highly specialized members of the using berries, flowers and other items Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family), a to mix his paints, he could not create large family of approximately 220 gen• the colors of the evening sky. Late one era and 3000 species. Included within night while resting in his teepee he this taxonomic assemblage are many heard a voice, "Because you have been of our most attractive western wild- faithful to the People and true to your flowers, such as penstemons gift, you shall find the colors you are (Penstemon), monkeyflowers (Mimulus) seeking. Tomorrow take the white and louseworts (Pedicularis). Unlike buckskin and go to the place where most members of the Scrophular• you watch the sun in the evening. iaceae, whose flowers provide nectar 251 guides and a landing pad as entice• ly deviates from this pattern. ments to bumblebees, the flowers of Although all Utah paintbrushes have Indian paintbrush are small and drab alternate and sessile leaves, leaf form by comparison, having a form more can vary considerably, even on the typical of plants pollinated by hum• same plant. Leaves can be linear, mingbirds or long-tongued insects. lanceolate, linear-elliptical or lance- The greenish or greenish-red petals are ovate. In some species the lower leaves fused into a narrow tube (corolla) slit may be entire while the upper leaves at the distal end. In some paintbrush are 3- to 5-lobed. In C. applegatei, the species the corolla tube extends upper leaves are lobed and have wavy beyond the bracts, whereas in others, margins, a trait clearly discernible very the tube remains obscured. The bracts early in the spring as new buds and sepals provide the brilliant floral emerge. colors most people associate with Paintbrush flowers, which are borne paintbrushes—the crimson so typical on terminal spikes or spike-like of Castilleja angustifolia or the reddish- racemes, develop cylindrical to ovoid orange of C. applegatei (photo, p. 265). seed capsules. With maturation, the The array of floral colors found capsules split open, and the seeds are among Utah's paintbrushes is surpris• dispersed through wind or animal ingly broad, ranging from fingernail- action. Paintbrush seeds (at least dried polish pink to fire-engine red, or from seeds) have a very interesting struc• near lemon-yellow to an off-white. ture: they consist of a brown, almond- Many floral colors can occur within a to kidney-bean-shaped seed encased single population in one geographic within a tortoise-shell-patterned, location, as exemplified by C. rhexifolia transparent envelope. Presumably the in Little Cottonwood Canyon (site of envelope generates through light the 1996 Annual NARGS meeting) of refraction the grayish color we associ• the Wasatch Range. Pink and reddish- ate with paintbrush seeds. The grayish orange are dominant throughout seeds of elephanthead (Pedicularis Grizzly Gulch, a side canyon situated groenlandica, also in the Scroph- on the northeastern edge of Alta Basin ulariaceae) are similarly structured, at the top of Little Cottonwood except the outer envelope is papillose Canyon. Within the Alta and adjacent (resembles "goose bumps") rather Albion Basins, rose-red predominates, than patterned with tortoise-shell with an occasional yellow form hidden patches. here or there. Pastels are common Indian paintbrushes are well- along the upper Gad Valley trail, known for their hemiparasitic growth which leads from the crest of Hidden habit. They are not alone in this oddi• Peak (11,000' end-point for the ty, for the closely related owl clovers Snowbird Ski Resort tram) located (Orthocarpus) and louseworts (Pedi• immediately west of the Albion Basin cularis) also are facultative parasites or down through Gad Valley and ulti• hemiparasites. Facultative parasites mately to the Snowbird Resort, confer• exploit the water and nutrients con• ence center for the 1996 NARGS fined within the root system of their Meeting. host but are not obligated to do so in The majority of Utah Castilleja form order to survive. The fibrous root sys• clumps, with several stems originating tem of perennial paintbrushes is from the same woody root crown; only woody like a shrub rather than fila• the single-stemmed C. exilis consistent• mentous as one might surmise from 252 ROCK GARDEN QUARTERLY VOL. 53(4) their parasitic habit. The lateral roots low-flowered perennial occupies form haustoria when coming in con• "Sagebrush and grass meadow com• tact with a host's roots, entering the munities adjacent to aspen-subalpine root and establishing a connection fir on clay-loam soils at about 9,800- with water-conducting cells (see 11,000' elevation." "Closely resembling Heckard, 1962). Perhaps attachment taxa in C. rhexifolia, but recognized by occurs early in the development the linear, appressed-ascending leaves (meristemic elongation) of the para• and smaller (6-12" tall), fewer site's new roots, prior to maturation stemmed (1-few) plants. Similar to C. and formation of a woody epidermis, occidentalis, which is smaller (3-8" tall) or it may be limited chronologically, and has decumbent stems." The single predominating during the first year or specimen of Aquarius paintbrush two of plant growth while the root included within the paintbrush collec• system is expanding but limited in tion at the Garrett Herbarium (Utah occurrence thereafter. Regardless of Museum of Natural History) was timing, facultative root parasitism found growing among volcanic rocks probably provides selective advan• on a gentle, north-facing slope of an tages to paintbrushes, as suggested by exposed meadow near the edge of a Ronald Taylor in his book Sagebrush spruce-fir forest at an elevation of Country, "through this parasitic associ• 9,900'. ation, the paintbrush increases its tol• Castilleja parvula is also endemic to erance to dry conditions and expands southcentral Utah, with var. parvula its geographical range." (Tushar paintbrush) restricted to alpine locales in Beaver, Piute, and Distribution Garfield Counties, while var. revealii Of the more than 200 species of (Reveal paintbrush) occurs at the Castilleja, fourteen occur within Utah, 7,000-8,500' elevation in Garfield, Iron and six (C. chromosa, C. exilis, C. linari- and Kane Counties. Castilleja parvula ifolia, C. miniata, C. applegatei, and C. var. parvula frequents "igneous gravels rhexifolia) are common along the and outcrops between 10,000-12,100' Wasatch Front. Five of the 14 have elevation," while var. revealii grows statewide distributions, four are abun• among ponderosa pine/bristlecone dant within the state but generally pine communities on gravelly soils of restricted ecologically to montane or the Wasatch Limestone Formation. desert habitats, and the remaining five Understandably, the two varieties are are classified as uncommon or rare, similar in appearance, separated taxo- their distributions often limited to a nomically by habitat, number of per• single mountain range. Two of these, sistent stems (C. parvula var. parvula C. aquariensis and both varieties of C. has several persistent 3.5-8"-long green parvula (var. parvula and var. revealii), stems, while var. revealii produces one have federal TES (threatened, endan• or two purplish stems), and length of gered, and sensitive) status: C. aquar• the calyx (C. p. var. parvula =0.5-0.7"; iensis (category 1, Cl); C. parvula var. var. revealii =0.6-1.3"). The inflores• revealii (C2) and C.