Golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4
Distribution
Global range
Golden paintbrush occurs at low elevations west of the Cascade Range from Vancouver Island to northwestern Oregon (Figure 2; see also Hitchcock et al. 1959).
Figure 2. Global distribution of golden paintbrush (black shaded area indicates contemporary range; grey shaded area shows location of extirpated populations from Columbia Gorge southwards; adapted from Caplow 2004).
Canadian range
In Canada, golden paintbrush is found only on small islands offshore from Victoria, British Columbia (Figure 3). The two extant populations are approximately 7 km apart and the Extent of Occurrence, adjusted by deducting areas of open ocean, is about 2.2 km². If one accepts the (northernmost) record from Wellington (near Nanaimo), then the historic extent of occurrence was approximately 600 km² (after adjustment). If the Wellington report is rejected (see below) then the historic extent of occurrence was approximately 100 km² (after adjustment). Based on the use of a 1 km square overlay grid, the Area of Occupancy for the two extant sites is 2 km² and based on a 2x2 km grid is 4 km².
Figure 3. Distribution map of golden paintbrush in Canada (solid stars indicate extant locations; open stars represent extirpated populations).
