Search / Plant Profile / Castilleja kaibabensis

Plant Profile

Kaibab Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja kaibabensis)

This plant flowers in early July. Photo Credit: Joyce Maschinski

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Orobanchaceae
State: AZ
Nature Serve ID: 149082
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 04/04/1991

Description:

Kaibab Indian paintbrush is one of fourteen species of Castilleja that is found in Arizona (Lehr 1978). This particular species is a woody herbaceous perennial. Its hairy, lance-shaped leaves arise along hairy stems that grow to approximately 40 cm tall. Bracts are also hairy and flowers vary from yellow, orange, to red-orange. (Cronquist et al 1984) This species is very similar in appearance to C. integra and C. lineariaefolia, but differs because its bracts are divided with fairly acute-tipped lobes and the hairs on the stems have rounded tips and are not white. The leaves are also more appressed (Brian 2000).

Where is Kaibab Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja kaibabensis) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Found in subalpine meadows surrounded by spruce-fir-aspen forests from 8,200 to 9,000 feet (2501 to 2745 meters) in elevation. Soils in the meadows where it is found are often fine silts, clays, or rocky, all of which are derived from weathered Kaibab limestone. These plants are often found on low, rounded ridgetops and small knolls, often in the driest, most exposed sites in open subalpine meadows. (Arizona Fish and Game Department 1999; Cronquist et al. 1984)

Distribution:

Endemic to Kaibab Plateau in the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (Cronquist et al. 1984).

States & Provinces:

Kaibab Indian-paintbrush can be found in Arizona

Which CPC Partners conserve Kaibab Indian-paintbrush (Castilleja kaibabensis)?

National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation (USDA-ARS)

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 10/27/20

The Arboretum at Flagstaff

Partially Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Sheila Murray

10/11/2021

CPC received a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a project entitled, “RNA integrity as a powerful metric of aging in preserved seed collections of wild rare plant species”, and as part of this grant The Arboretum at Flagstaff collected seeds for Castilleja kaibabensis, or the Kaibab Plateau Paintbrush. We collected over 9000 seeds bulked together in October of 2021. These tiny fresh seeds will be compared to older seed we collected from the same population to find out how fast rare seeds are losing their viability in storage. The seed collecting conditions in 2021 were vastly superior to conditions in 2020, in which Northern Arizona experienced the worst drought in recorded history. Plants all across the ecosystem responded well to the shift back to a relatively normal amount of rainfall.

Center for Plant Conservation

10/08/2021

As outlined in the CPC and USFS Rare Plant Seed Banking Agreement, Sheila Murray made a collection Castilleja kaibabensis in September 2020 near the Dermotte Park region of Kaibab National Forest in an open meadow. Sheila visited a population of 600 individuals She observed 60 reproductively mature individuals and collected viable seed from 59 maternal lines. In total, Sheila collected 2035 seeds, these were divided and a portion were sent to NLGRP for back up.

Center for Plant Conservation

10/08/2021

Center for Plant Conservation

10/08/2021

In a five-year collaboration between US Forest Service (USFS) and Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), rare plant populations located on Region 3 USFS land were identified, seed collected, and banked through CPC’s network of botanical gardens. Sheila Murray was the principal collector for The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s collection of the critically imperiled Castilleja kaibabensis. This species is endemic to Kaibab National Forest, occurring in an area of only a dozen square miles. Sheila visited a population of 600 individuals in September 2020 near the Dermotte Park region of Kaibab National Forest in an open meadow. She observed 60 reproductively mature individuals and collected viable seed from 59 maternal lines. In total, Sheila collected 2035 seeds, these were divided and a portion were sent to NLGRP for back up.

Center for Plant Conservation

08/18/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted the Arboretum at Flagstaff to recollect seed from a population currently held in long term orthodox seed storage as part of an IMLS-funded seed longevity experiment. The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation will evaluate how germination tested viability and RNA Integrity of seed lots decline over time in storage.

10/27/2020

CPC Funded the Arboretum at Flagstaff to complete a seed collection on USFS land in 2020 and they have a seed collection in their seed bank

10/27/2020

CPC Funded the Arboretum at Flagstaff to complete a seed collection on USFS land in 2020 - the back up seed lot resides at NLGRP

10/27/2020

CPC Funded the Arboretum at Flagstaff to complete a seed collection on USFS land in 2020

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Known only from the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. Occurs in an area of only about a dozen square miles (Reichenbacher 1986 cited by AGFD 1992). It was apparently fairly abundant within this area (AGFD 1992). Populations have decreased, and plants are now only known from three general areas (AGFD 2012). Herbarium specimens should be reviewed to assess trends in populations since new specimens have been collected since 2012.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

Grazing poses the most significant threat to this species.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

This species is considered to have a stable population, with many hundreds of thousands of plants occurring in a 5 to 6 mile stretch. However, it is possible that these trends are not accurate, as another more common species, Castilleja integra, occurs in the same area and has a similar appearance. (Arizona Fish and Game Department 1999)

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

None known.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

The species is still considered before any potential adverse activities can take place on USFS lands.

Joyce Maschinski, Ph.D.

01/01/2010

As more surveys were done for the species, more populations were found. It is still classified as a Forest Service Sensitive species, State rank S2 with very low risk.