Castilleja guadalupensis is an extinct species of plant in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae commonly known as the Guadalupe paintbrush. The plant was only found on the central and northern portions of Guadalupe Island, an eastern Pacific island of Mexico. It was one of two endemic species of Castilleja to the island, the other, Castilleja fruticosa, mainly surviving on offshore islets.[1][2]
| Guadalupe paintbrush | |
|---|---|
| |
| One specimen of Castilleja guadalupensis collected by Edward Palmer, deposited at Harvard University | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Orobanchaceae |
| Genus: | Castilleja |
| Species: | †C. guadalupensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Castilleja guadalupensis | |
C. guadalupensis was first found by Edward Palmer on the middle of Guadalupe in 1875, although the plants were initially recognized as Castilleja foliolosa.[2][3] The type specimen was later collected by ornithologist Alfred Webster Anthony on a March 1897 expedition to Guadalupe with Townshend Stith Brandegee.[2] A year later in 1898, sailor and hunter Harry Drent collected some specimens of C. guadalupensis. The species has not been found since and is presumably extinct due to the overgrazing of the island by introduced feral goats.[2][4]
Brandegee described the species in 1903.[5] Castilleja guadalupensis is close in appearance to C. foliolosa, which Palmer's specimens were initially labeled as, but C. guadalupensis is a much-branched shrub to 6 decimetres (24 in) tall with smooth hard, woody stems at the base, while C. foliolosa has herbaceous stems with a tomentose, white indumentum.[2][5]
See also
editOther extinctions of endemic species on Guadalupe Island:
References
edit- ^ Rebman, Jon P.; Gibson, Judy; Rich, Karen (15 November 2016). "Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 45. San Diego Natural History Museum: 6, 211 – via San Diego Plant Atlas.
- ^ a b c d e Moran, Reid (1996). The Flora of Guadalupe Island. California Academy of Sciences. pp. 40, 42, 48, 150. ISBN 0-940228-40-8.
- ^ Watson, Sereno (1876). "Botanical Contributions". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 11: 117 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ^ de la Luz, José Luis León; Rebman, Jon P.; Oberbauer, Thomas (2003-05-01). "On the urgency of conservation on Guadalupe Island, Mexico: is it a lost paradise?". Biodiversity & Conservation. 12 (5): 1073–1082. doi:10.1023/A:1022854211166. ISSN 1572-9710.
- ^ a b Brandegee, Townshend Stith (1892). "New Species of Lower California Plants". Zoë. 5 (9): 166–167 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.