Castilleja rubicundula
Castilleja rubicundula is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name cream sacs. It is native to northern California and southwestern Oregon. It is found in coastal and inland grasslands.
Castilleja rubicundula | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Orobanchaceae |
Genus: | Castilleja |
Species: | C. rubicundula |
Binomial name | |
Castilleja rubicundula (Jepson) Chuang & Heckard | |
Synonyms | |
Orthocarpus rubicundula |
Description
Castilleja rubicundula is a hairy, glandular annual growing to about half a meter in height, the stem leafy with lance-shaped foliage.
It produces a terminal inflorescence and sometimes branches off several more inflorescences. The white, pink, yellow, or bicolored flowers are divided into usually three pouches, making them look inflated. Each pouch is about a centimeter wide and half a centimeter deep. Each flower has a beak extending about half a centimeter above the pouches.
The fruit is a capsule containing tiny seeds less than a millimeter long. Under magnification the seed's honeycomb-patterned coat is visible.
Subspecies
Subspecies and varieties include:[1]
- Castilleja rubicundula ssp. lithospermoides
- Castilleja rubicundula ssp. rubicundula — endemic to the Sacramento Valley, California.[2]
- Castilleja rubicundula var. rubicundula
Distribution and habitat
This annual wildflower is native to northern California, and into southwestern Oregon. It lives on coastal and inland grasslands.[3]
References
- "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov.
- "Castilleja rubicundula ssp. rubicundula Calflora". www.calflora.org.
- "UC/JEPS: Jepson Manual treatment for CASTILLEJA rubicundula". ucjeps.berkeley.edu.