FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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A CLOSER LOOK AT OWL’S CLOVER By Bob Young This is the sixteenth of a series of articles describing the flowers pictured in our wildflower brochure. —ed.
Owl’s Clover, (scientific name Castilleja densiflora), is shown in the brochure “Common Native Wildflowers of Edgewood” published jointly by the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and Friends of Edgewood Natural Preserve. The scientific name was for many years Orthocarpus densiflorus. In 1993 the new Jepson manual lumped most of the genus Orthocarpus into the genus Castilleja. Castilleja refers to Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo (1744 – 1793). Owl’s Clover is in the Scrophulariaceae Family. The common name of this family is Figwort or Snapdragon family. In the Jepson Manual, Castilleja is described as a “Perennial green root-parasite,” meaning that the plant gets some nourishment by growing into the roots of other plants, but has its own root system and green, food-making leaves. At one time the genus Castilleja was used only for Indian Paintbrush; now, the Jepson Manual shows the common names Indian Paintbrush/Owl’s-Clover for that genus. Owl’s Clover can be found at less than 4200 feet elevation, from California’s North Coast Ranges to northern Baja California and east to the central Sierra Nevada foothills. In San Mateo County, it is a very common annual of grasslands, open fields, and serpentine soils, blooming in April and May. The purplish-colored bracts give the plume-like form and most of the gaudy color to the spikes. The plant is highly variable, having many local forms. Owl’s Clover species hybridize readily and are often hard to tell apart. There is not an obvious relation with owls or with clover. The San Mateo County Library system found a reference to Domingo Castillejo in a U.S. Geological Survey publication covering Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands. In that article, they state that the genus Castilleja “was dedicated to the distinguished Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo in 1781.” Owl’s Clover is a secondary, but critical, food source for the rare checkerspot butterfly. The checkerspot butterfly larvae primarily feed on California Plantain, but as the Plantain dries up, the larvae will use Owl’s Clover for food. For further information on this, you can go to our May 1995 newsletter article. This will connect you with Susan Sommers’ article on the Life Cycle of an Island Nymph. Another interesting site available is The Trail Center’s Dec/Jan 1998 newsletter article. This concerns Owl’s Clover and the checkerspot butterfly at Calero Lake Estates in southern Santa Clara County. |
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