Castilleja integra

Mature individuals of Castilleja integra are typically in size, though they have been reported to grow as tall as . The stems either grow straight up from the ground (erect stems) or have a curved bend at their base to grow outwards a short distance then upwards (ascending stems). C. integra may have just one solitary stem or several, they are always unbranched near the base, but may have short branches near the end of the stems. Castilleja integra will also transfer certain alkaloids from host plants to its own tissues. For example senecionine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid, is transferred from Liatris punctata (dotted gayfeathers) and Senecio species to itself. Similarly lupanine, one of the quinolizidine alkaloids, is transferred from Lupinus (lupins). The transfer of senecionine to itself appears to have some benefit in reducing the growth rate of herbivores such as leanira checkerspot caterpillars (Chlosyne leanira). , New Mexico ==Taxonomy==

Castilleja integra was first scientifically observed in the Organ Mountains of Southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas, by Charles Wright. Its first published description was in 1858 by Asa Gray. Two different chromosome numbers have been observed in Castilleja integra, 2n = 24 and 48. Southwestern paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush, grassland paintbrush, foothills paintbrush, broadbract paintbrush, wholeleaf painted cup, and wholeleaf paintbrush. An older common name is ''painter's brush, recorded by Alice Eastwood in 1893. The Zuni people call Castilleja integra'' in their own language, a compound word which means "hummingbird all sucking-food". ==Distribution and habitat==

, Arizona The natural range of Castilleja integra can be broadly defined as northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. In the United States its range includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, but it not found in California or Nevada. It also grows in much of northern Mexico including the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Durango. They are not typically found in cooler or moist habitats like aspen woodlands. They are at least somewhat fire adapted, a study finding no extirpation in low intensity wildfires and only small amount in moderate intensity fires. Conservation NatureServe last evaluated Castilleja integra in 1986, listing it as apparently secure (G4) at that time. They similarly found it to be apparently secure (S4) at the state level in Arizona, but they did not evaluate the rest of its range. ==Ecology==

The variable checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) feeds upon various species in both the Orobanchaceae and Scrophulariaceae families as a caterpillar, including Castilleja integra. The somewhat similar looking leanira checkerspot (Chlosyne leanira) is more selective. It is only recorded as eating the paintbrush genus, very often Castilleja integra in southern Colorado. Hummingbirds are a frequent pollinator of Castilleja integra including the rufous hummingbird, broad-tailed hummingbird, and black-chinned hummingbird, due to the good nectar flow, Pollen is deposited by the plants on the bill and crown of the hummingbirds, who are attracted by the nectar reward concealed in the long tube of the flower. Rufous hummingbirds of both sexes fiercely defend a territory or try to steal a territory of blooming flowers including the orange paintbrush. They try to keep approximately the same number of flowers within the territory and only abandon a territory due to aggression or as the number of flowers decrease. Known host plants include Artemisia frigida, Artemisia michauxiana, Calylophus serrulatus, Ericameria nauseosa, Liatris punctata, Oxytropis sericea, Penstemon pinifolius, Penstemon attenuatus, Penstemon strictus, Penstemon teucrioides, Calylophus serrulatus, Eriogonum strictum, and Eriogonum jamesii. When Castailleja integra was tested with Campanula petiolata, Erigeron elatior, Penstemon virens, Tetraneuris scaposa, or Liatris spicata as host plants it had no survival in field plantings after 14 months. When planted with Antennaria media the rate was 3% and with Zinnia grandiflora and Penstemon crandallii it had 17% survival at 14 months. When planted with a host plant in a pot there was 10% or less survival of C. integra after three months when paired with Eriogonum umbellatum var. dichrocephalum, Gaillardia spathulata or Geum triflorum. Likewise, silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) does not support Castailleja integra very readily, with only one out of forty pairings blooming in a one year test in 2004. ==Uses==

Cultivation Paintbrush flowers are a desirable species in gardens for their showy flowers and attraction of hummingbirds, but can be difficult to grow because of their dependence upon a host species and dislike of being transplanted. This means that plants grown for sale by nurseries must be grown with a compatible host plant in the same pot that will also be desirable to buyers. Orange paintbrush and desert paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa) are two of the most tolerant species of garden conditions and being transplanted. The best survival rates for orange paintbrush when planted in pots are with fringed sagebrush, lemon sagewort, rubber rabbitbrush, pine-leaved penstemon, yellow sundrops, Blue Mountain buckwheat, or antelope sage. Among penstemon species, Penstemon strictus has some of the best survival rates. Distance from the host plant is also a factor, with the survival rate falling by more than 80% when placed at a distance of 4 centimeters instead of just 2 centimeters. Orange paintbrush will grow in areas as cold as USDA zone 4, minimum temperatures of and as warm as zone 8. Traditional uses The Zuni people used the root's bark, mixed with minerals, to dye deerskin black. ==References==