Since we are on Castilleja..... I have several populations in my area of beautiful mixed colour plants, the exact origins of which I have not yet determined- only miniata appears in my area on maps, but I think my area is not well surveyed,is a bit of a border area between several biomes, and things creep in from species that are not officially recorded here. The plants in the populations range from near white to creamy pale yellows, through salmon to scarlet, with an occasional almost true red, but not true pinks nor anything purply, and many bi or tri-coloured 'flowers' in various combinations of the above.. its been suggested they are likely hybrids between miniata and something else, but the 'something else' does not occur here by itself as far as I have seen (not the final word on populations, and maybe the other species is right there and I don't recognise it! There are sites with only scarlet and salmon miniata types, but no sites with only the cream coloured plants) so I presume the cross occurred elsewhere (likely in the foothills where other species are recorded) and the plants moved down here as hybrids, or perhaps, another species used to exist around here and does not now... Here is one of the populations; the comments were written before I was told by someone much more knowledgeable than I, on Flickr, that they are likely hybrids, though he had not had a chance to really examine them closely yet; fewer mixed colour plants than the other population, but some very tall plants, some up to nearly a metre. https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/July102011Castilleja
This is the original population I'd seen, several miles as the crow flies from the one above, farther by road; I showed pics from this site before, but this is a different year/album https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/July072010ThunderAndPaintbrushes Here is the album I would have shared a couple of years ago, with some of the best mixed colour plants.. https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/Castilleja2009 You can get some sense of the habitat from the albums-- both are in roadside ditches, ranging from moist areas in the ditch bottom (though absent from the wettest spots) up the banks to medium and some dryish spots, depending on the year... and ranging from full sun spots to morning or afternoon sun only and into open aspen stands.. At both sites they extend quite some distance along the ditch- at least a quarter mile at one site, and probably nearer a mile at the other, and to varying extents on both sides of the gravel road.They grow with many other species from grasses and invasive forage plants like clover and sweet clover to native Geranium richardsonii, Anemone canadensis (at one of the sites only, and ranging a bit more to the lower, damper end of the site, with Castilleja mostly at the other), various native asters and other compositae, Lilium philadelphicum, wild rose and other shrubs, Vicia, Lathyrus, etc etc.... Here's an album showing some companions at the first site shown above- (I haven't got these labelled yet! Lets see-- Achillea, Arnica, Erigeron, Campanula, Hieracium? Galium) https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/July102011BesideThePaintbrushes . I have sent seed to Gardens North from the original site in 2009, and both sites in 2010; I did not get seed sent this year, but still have some from the second site... I have not yet tried sowing any- but knowing now they don't need a host in the seed pot, I probably will! Cohan West Central Alberta, Canada, Zone 2-3 record temps from 10-20 miles away: min -45C/-49F;max 34C/93F http://picasaweb.google.com/cactuscactus > I have read elsewhere that C. sulphurea and C. miniata hybridize freely. > I have not observed this in my area. The two species grow side-by-side > throughout my neighborhood. The red C. miniata are always red; the > creamy-white C. sulphurea are always creamy-white. Even the vegetative > parts (leaves and stems) of these two species remain distinct. Before they > go to seed, I mark a selection of C. miniata plants with a red twist-tie > and the C. sulphurea plants with a white twist-tie so I can keep the > collected seeds separate. However, the foliage of these two species is so > distinct that those colored twist-ties are just added insurance that I have > identified the plants correctly. > > Jane Hendrix > Mountain View Experimental Gardens > Peak 7 Area - Breckenridge, Colorado USA > Elevation: 10,000 feet > USDA Zone: 4 > Website: http://www.picturetrail.com/hendrix > > > > _______________________________________________ > --
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