Search / Plant Profile / Castilleja gleasonii

Plant Profile

Mt. Gleason Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja gleasonii)

This shot shows the entire Mount Gleason indian paintbrush plant, with its characteristic scarlet flowers. Photo Credit: Valerie Soza

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Orobanchaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 139954
Lifeform: Subshrub, Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/08/1989

Description:

This perennial hemiparasite (root parasite) is an endemic to the San Gabriel Mountains, with a limited range in the western part of the mountain range in the Mount Gleason area. Its scarlet inflorescence is showy like many other related paintbrushes, blooming from April to July, however this taxon is distinguished by the presence of branched hairs throughout (Mistretta and Brown 1987).

Where is Mt. Gleason Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja gleasonii) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Rocky, granitic places, 5000-7000 feet elevation, in yellow pine forest, lower montane coniferous forest, and pinyon and juniper woodland. Areas of gentle to moderate relief, in sandy or loamy, well-drained soils with some litter accumulation.

Distribution:

North Fork Pacoima Canyon east and south to Chilao Flat, San Gabriel Mountains, Transverse Ranges, Los Angeles County, California.

States & Provinces:

Mt. Gleason Indian-paintbrush can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Mt. Gleason Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja gleasonii)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

10/09/2020

The Angeles National Forest has adopted a species management guide for this taxon and a monitoring program to examine population dynamics was initiated in 1982 (Mistretta 1994b).

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 5 accessions of Castilleja gleasoni in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 27842 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden has collected 5 seed accessions of Castilleja gleasoni from 4 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 25 maternal plants

Valerie Soza

01/01/2010

Populations are threatened by recreational activities on the Forest, in close proximity to campgrounds and trails, fuelwood harvesting, and off-highway vehicle activity. In addition, evidence of browsing, most likely by deer, has been observed (Mistretta

Valerie Soza

01/01/2010

Known from 6 general locations: Chilao/Horse Flats, Lightning Ridge, Little Rock Creek, Messenger Flats, Mount Gleason, and North Fork Pacoima Canyon. A total of at least 3700 individuals was observed in 1987 during surveys of all known populations except the North Fork Pacoima Canyon site (Mistretta 1994a, Mistretta and Brown 1987).

Valerie Soza

01/01/2010

None known.

Valerie Soza

01/01/2010

The Angeles National Forest has adopted a species management guide for this taxon and a monitoring program to examine population dynamics was initiated in 1982 (Mistretta 1994b).

Valerie Soza

01/01/2010

Little is known on the biological information of this species, including life history, pollination biology, reproduction, etc. (Mistretta and Brown 1987). This species has been placed under Castilleja pruinosa in the current treatment in the Jepson Manual of California plants. Excluding Castilleja gleasonii locations, Castilleja pruinosa is known only from northern California and southern Oregon. Under the species description for Castilleja pruinosa, plants with wider calyx lobes from the San Gabriel Mountains are identified as having been called Castilleja gleasonii, which is probably a polyploid derivative/hybrid of C. affinis ssp. affinis and C. foliolosa. This group is recognized as a highly variable and confusing complex needing further study (Hickman 1993).