Castilleja (Indian paintbrush)

FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Castilleja

Indian paintbrush, prairie-fire

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Orobanchaceae	Broomrape family of parasitic plants
Genus	Castilleja	Named for Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo

About plant names...

The Castilleja genus, comprised of about 200 species, is native to the Americas, northern Asia, and part of Siberia. The genus takes its name from Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), a name chosen by his teacher, botanist José Celestino Mutis. They are most commonly known as Indian paintbrush, and also called prairie-fire. Both names are apt and poetic. The flowerheads resemble both brightly daubed paintbrushes and, in groups, dancing flames. Indian paintbrushes are hemiparasitic—they derive some of their nutrients by attaching to the roots of other plants. This dependency on surrounding plants makes paintbrushes difficult to transplant.

If you're interested in Castillejas, don't miss Mark Egger's superb photographic compilation on Flickr. Mark is perhaps the world's foremost expert on this genus.

This table compares several species of Indian paintbrush. Click the species name for the article on each species.

Cobwebby Indian paintbrush (Castilleja arachnoidea) · 8/29/2007 · Near Crater Lake, Oregon
≈ 3½ × 5" (8.8 × 13 cm)

Woolly Indian paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa) · 2/26/2010 · Torrey Pines State Park, La Jolla, California
≈ 2 × 1½" (5.1 × 3.9 cm)

	*Castilleja arachnoidea*	*Castilleja foliolosa*	*Castilleja integra*
Common Name	cobwebby Indian paintbrush	woolly Indian paintbrush	foothill paintbrush
Plant	3-12" (7.6-30 cm) high	12-24" (30-60 cm) tall, multiply branched, coated with a "felt" of white to gray, branched hairs.	Plants are up to 20" (50 cm) in height, covered with fuzzy white hairs.
Flowers	Yellow to pale green or purplish red in color, appearing in June. Bracts—modified leaves—appear under each flower, and are ¼-¾" (6.3-19 mm) long. They are yellowish to dull red.	Flower clusters are 1-8" (3-20 cm). Each flower is ½-⅞" (1.5-2.5 cm) in size, surrounded with bracts (modified leaves) of similar size. Flowers are orange-red or sometimes yellow-green in color, appearing from March to June.	Flowers are greenish, with a bright scarlet tinge; largely hidden by the bracts, specialized leaves that are red-orange or sometimes yellowish in color. Appear from April to October.
Leaves	¾-2" (2-6 cm) long, unlobed or forked into lobes.	⅜-1¾" (1-5 cm) long, mostly linear (long and narrow), sometimes forked.	linear, long and narrow, hairless on top and hairy beneath, often curled and almost tubular in shape. Leaves are entire, *not divided into lobes or forks*.
Fruit	Fruit capsules are about ⅜" (1 cm) long.	⅜-½" (1-1.5 cm) long, with seeds that are ¹/₃₂-¹/₁₆" (1.5-2 mm).
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Open summits, dry rocks, elevations 1.1-1.9 mi (1.7-3 km)	Yellow pine forest, foothills woodlands, chaparral, grasslands	Dry hills, woodlands, mesas, plains, high prairies, at elevations of 4800-10197' (1.5-3.1 km)
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

	*Castilleja linariifolia*	*Castilleja miniata*	*Castilleja rhexiifolia*
Common Name	Wyoming Indian paintbrush	giant red Indian paintbrush	splitleaf Indian paintbrush
Plant	Plants are 12-40' (3.7-12 m) tall, and often branched. (Sometimes up to 6½' (2 m).) Initially grayish-green, stems and leaves become tinged with purple over time.	18-36" (45-91 cm) high, with unbranched or rarely branched stems. Stems are green, becoming purplish with age.	Plants occur in small clusters, with unbranched *purplish or red* stems.
Flowers	Flowerheads are ⅞-2" (2.5-5.2 cm) in size. Bright red bracts (modified leaves) about 1¼" (3.4 cm) long mostly hide drab yellow-greenish flowers within. Flowers appear from May to October.	The flowerheads, 1-6" (3-15 cm) in size, are mostly bracts (modified leaves), colored crimson or scarlet; the true flowers are small, green, and easily overlooked.	A *pink/purple hue* rather than the more common strong red or red-orange colors. In addition to purple-magenta, pink-white, pink-magenta and crimson also occur. Flowers are mostly bracts—modified leaves—which largely enclose greenish flowers.
Leaves	Leaves are linear, long and narrow, usually entire (undivided), though sometimes upper leaves are lobed. They are often curled, almost tubelike.	Leaves are 1-2" (3-6 cm) long, lanceolate (lance-shaped) and entire (undivided), with sharp tips.	Leaves are broadly lanceolate (lance-shaped), and entire (unlobed).
Fruit	Two-chambered capsules.	Fruits are ⅛-⅜" (6-12 mm) in size, containing seeds that are ¹/₃₂-¹/₁₆" (1.5-2 mm).
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Among sagebrush and grasses, pinyon/juniper and ponderosa pines; between 3280-9842' (999-2999 m)	Moist places, such as meadows and bogs; elevations of 0.0-137783724.4 mils (0--214748364 µm)	Alpine and subalpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains and related western mountain ranges.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

Identification: Plants vary in size between about 6-79" (15-200 cm), most below two feet. They may be annuals, small shrublike perennials, or groups of erect, unbranched stems. Leaves may be entire (undivided), or lobed or forked. Flowers are in groups atop stems. Most of the color comes from bracts and sepals that partly enclose the flowers. Reds, magentas, and yellows are common. They are found in many locations in western North America. Detailed range maps for various Castillejas are available at BONAP's North American Plant Atlas.

Edibility: Flowers of most paintbrushes are edible, with health benefits similar to those of garlic, when consumed in modest quantities. But the plants retain and concentrate the element selenium from the soil in the roots and leaves, making these parts of the plants poisonous. So keep to the flowers alone, in small amounts.

Online References:

Mark Egger’s Castilleja site on Flickr

Calflora

Wikipedia

The USDA Plants Database

References:

Turner, Mark, Gustafson, Phyllis, Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, Timber Press, 2006

Castilleja description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

Wyoming Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia) · 5/3/2007 · Death Valley Area · By Rhonda Tatiana Schorer

Longleaf Indian paintbrush (Castilleja subinclusa ssp. franciscana) · Found near the Golden Gate bridge. · 6/12/2007 · Sausalito, California
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)