SCROPHULARIACEAE

FIGWORT FAMILY

Lawrence R. Heckard, Family Coordinator

Annual to shrubs, generally glandular, some green root-parasites
Stem generally round
Leaves generally alternate, simple, generally ± entire; stipules generally 0
Inflorescence: spike to panicle, generally bracted, or flowers 1–2 in axils
Flower bisexual; calyx lobes generally 5; corolla generally strongly bilateral, generally 2-lipped (upper lip generally 2-lobed, lower lip generally 3-lobed); stamens generally 4 in 2 pairs, generally included, a 5th (generally uppermost) sometimes present as a staminode; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers generally 2, placentas axile, style 1, stigma lobes generally 2
Fruit: capsule, generally ± ovoid, loculicidal or septicidal
Seed: coat sculpture often characteristic
Genera in family: ± 200 genera, 3000 species: ± worldwide; some cultivated as ornamental (e.g., Antirrhinum, Mimulus, Penstemon ) or medicinal (Digitalis )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include only Buddleja, Scrophularia, and Verbascum in CA; other genera moved to Orobanchaceae (Castilleja, Cordylanthus, Orthocarpus, Pedicularis, Triphysaria), Phrymaceae (Mimulus), and Plantaginaceae (= Veronicaceae sensu Olmstead et al.)
Key to genera by Elizabeth Chase Neese & Margriet Wetherwax.

CASTILLEJA

INDIAN PAINTBRUSH, OWL'S-CLOVER

T.I. Chuang and Lawrence R. Heckard

Annual to subshrub, green root-parasites
Leaves sessile, entire to dissected
Inflorescence spike-like; bracts becoming shorter, wider, more lobed than leaves, tips generally colored
Flower: calyx generally unequally 4-lobed, generally colored like bract tips; corolla upper lip beak-like, tip open, lower lip generally reduced, 3-toothed to -pouched; stamens 4; anther sacs 2, unequal; stigma entire to 2-lobed, generally exserted
Fruit loculicidal, ± ovoid, ± asymmetric
Seed generally ± brown, attached at base; coat netted, net-like walls sometimes aligned ladder-like
Species in genus: ± 200 species: especially w North America
Etymology: (Domingo Castillejo, Spanish botanist)
Reference: [Chuang & Heckard 1991 Syst Bot 16:644–666]
Highly variable within and between populations. Hybridization and polyploidy common; polyploid forms may have separate ranges or be ± identifiable within populations by minor characters. Biologically consistent taxa very difficult to define
Horticultural information: TRY with host; usually DFCLT.

Native

C. latifolia Hook. & Arn.

MONTEREY INDIAN PAINTBRUSH

Perennial or subshrub 30–60 cm, gray-green becoming purplish, ± bristly, mostly nonglandular
Stem with many, short, axillary shoots
Leaf 5–20 mm, oblong to rounded, ± fleshy; lobes 0–3, tips truncate-rounded
Inflorescence 5–20 cm; bracts 15–20 mm, widely wedge-shaped to widely obovate, lobes 0–3, bright red to yellow, central lobe tip truncate to rounded
Flower: calyx 15–25 mm, divided ± 1/3–1/2 in back, more deeply in front, < 1/8 on sides, long-nonglandular- and short-glandular-hairy, lobes obtuse to rounded; corolla 20–30 mm, beak ± = or > tube, back shaggy-puberulent, margins reddish, lower lip 2 mm, dark green, included; stigma club-shaped, ± entire
Fruit 12–20 mm
Seed 2–2.5 mm; coat deeply netted, most walls ladder-like
Chromosomes: 2n=24
Ecology: UNCOMMON. Coastal dunes, scrub
Elevation: < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: n&c Central Coast.Scattered but locally abundant in good years.