Castilleja levisecta Greenm.
golden paintbrush (golden paintbrush; golden paintbrush)
Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Wylie Thomas     (Photo ID #38489)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Castilleja levisecta
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a somewhat woody stem-base; stems several, clustered, decumbent or creeping at the base, 10-50 cm tall, unbranched, sticky with long, soft, glandular hairs, especially above.
Leaves:
Alternate, lanceolate, sticky-long-hairy to minutely stiff-hairy, the lower leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, the upper ones oblong-egg-shaped with 1 to 3 pairs of short lateral lobes near the top.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a prominently bracted terminal spike, the spike narrow and ultimately elongate, the bracts golden-yellow, oblong, blunt, about as wide as the upper leaves, with 1 to 3 pairs of short lobes near the top, minutely hairy and also sticky-long-hairy, as long as and mostly concealing the flowers; corollas 20-23 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip beak-like, minutely hairy, shorter than the tube and 3-4 times as long as the lower lip; calyces long-hairy, 15-18 mm long, deeply 2-lobed, these primary lobes again divided into 2 linear, blunt segments; stamens 4.
Fruits:
Capsules; seeds many, the seed-coats loose and net-veined.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Castilleja levisecta

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
792 792 792
Slope Gradient (%)
0 0 0

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

90 90 90
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 3 3
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1
Modal BEC Zone Class
PP

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

PP(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry to mesic, grassy meadows in the lowland zone; rare on SE tip of Vancouver Island and adjacent islands; S to OR.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia