Castilleja exserta
Encyclopedia
Castilleja exserta is a species of plant in the genus which includes the Indian paintbrushes
. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush.
This species is native to the Southwestern United States
. It can be found in places where it has been introduced, such as Hawaii.
.
Like other related plants this is a hemiparasite
which derives some of its nutrients directly from the roots of other plants by injecting them with haustoria
; this is the reason for its small, reduced leaves.
Castilleja
Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes, northern Asia, and one species as far west as the Kola Peninsula in Siberia...
. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush.
This species is native to the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. It can be found in places where it has been introduced, such as Hawaii.
Description
The Castilleja exserta plant is an annual about a foot tall with a hairy stem covered in thready leaves. Although this species is variable in appearance and easily hybridizes with other Castilleja, it generally bears a brightly-colored inflorescence of shaggy pink-purple or lavender flowers. The thin, erect bracts are usually tipped with the same color, giving the inflorescence the appearance of a paintbrushBrush
A brush is a tool with bristles, wire or other filaments, used for cleaning, grooming hair, make up, painting, surface finishing and for many other purposes. It is one of the most basic and versatile tools known to mankind, and the average household may contain several dozen varieties...
.
Like other related plants this is a hemiparasite
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
which derives some of its nutrients directly from the roots of other plants by injecting them with haustoria
Haustorium
In botany, a haustorium is the appendage or portion of a parasitic fungus or of the root of a parasitic plant that penetrates the host's tissue and draws nutrients from it. Haustoria do not penetrate the host's cell membranes.Fungi in all major divisions form haustoria...
; this is the reason for its small, reduced leaves.