Kerry's Indian paintbrush facts for kids

Castilleja kerryana is a beautiful flowering plant that was discovered and officially named in 2013. So far, it has only been found in a small area in Montana, a state in the Northwestern United States. This plant is special because it's quite new to science!

It looks a bit like other plants in the Castilleja family, especially Castilleja crista-galli, C. fraterna, and C. pulchella. However, Castilleja kerryana has its own unique colors and shapes in its stems and flowers that make it different from its relatives.

Where It Lives

This special plant only grows in the Scapegoat Wilderness. This wilderness area is part of the Flathead Range in the Rocky Mountains, located in northern Montana.

Castilleja kerryana likes to grow in places with limestone rocks. It prefers thin, rocky soil where the ground is not very deep. You can find it in areas called "krummholz" (where trees are stunted and twisted by wind) and "fellfield" (open, rocky areas above the tree line). It grows at very high elevations, usually between 8,000 and 9,000 feet (about 2,400 to 2,700 meters) above sea level.

What It Looks Like

Castilleja kerryana is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years and doesn't have a woody stem above ground. It grows from a woody base called a caudex and has yellowish roots.

This plant can have several flowering stems, along with shorter stems that don't produce flowers. The stems might lie flat at the bottom and then grow straight up. They can be green, reddish, or purplish. They feel a bit hairy and can grow up to 18 centimeters (about 7 inches) long.

The leaves are long and narrow, sometimes split into different parts. They can be green or have a purple tint. Each leaf can be up to 7 centimeters (about 2.7 inches) long.

Flowers and Colors

The flowers grow in a tight cluster called an inflorescence, which looks like a spike. This spike can be up to 7 centimeters long and spread out up to 8 centimeters wide.

The parts around the flowers, like the calyx (the outer leaf-like parts) and the bracts (special leaves near the flowers), are very colorful. They can be bright red, scarlet, crimson, red-orange, coral, salmon, red-magenta, and even violet-magenta. Sometimes, they can be yellowish.

The bracts are pointed and can be up to 3 centimeters long. The actual flowers might stick out past these colorful bracts. The sepals are also very bright. The flower itself, called the corolla, is shaped like a tube with a beak and a small pouch. It can be up to 5 centimeters long. The stigma, which is part of the plant's reproductive system, sticks out from the flower. After the flower, a fruit forms, which is a small capsule almost a centimeter long.

Ecology and Life Cycle

Castilleja kerryana often grows close to another plant called Dryas octopetala. Scientists think that Castilleja kerryana might be a hemiparasitic plant. This means it can make its own food using sunlight, but it also taps into the roots of other plants, like Dryas octopetala, to get extra water and nutrients. Many plants in the Castilleja family do this.

Other plants that share the same habitat include various grasses and small shrubs like Carex rupestris, Subalpine fir, Salix vestita, and colorful wildflowers such as Silene acaulis and Aquilegia jonesii.

How It Got Its Name

This plant is named for the daughter and sister of the person who first described it. Both of them are named Kerry.