spiralis, Annual Paintbrush or California Threadtorch), which has thinner inflorescences and Castilleja foliosa or Woolly Paintbrush, with fuller inflorescences and leaves. Some related and similar-looking plants also found in our mountains are Castilleja martinii, which looks nearly the same Castilleja stenantha (or Castilleja minor ssp. The genus name Castilleja is in honor of the Spanish botany professor Domingo Castillejo, and affinis means 'related to'.

As such, it is difficult to transplant or grow from seed. This plant is semi-parasitic, most commonly gaining water and food from other plants' roots.

The stem is woody and purplish in color, and the green leaves below the inflorescence are thin and lancelike. As a photo below illustrates, sometimes nature dips the brush in yellow paint instead of the most common red. What is normally taken for the 'flowers' on this plant - the (usually) scarlet brushy-looking tips - are really leaf bracts the true flowers inconspicuously mingle with the leaves in the spring. Normal blooming time is February to May, but the red inflorescence can be observed throughout the year. It is present in most of the eastern states, including those bordering the Mississippi River, as well as Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.Indian Paintbrush is a plant known to grow throughout most of the US.

This species likes sand and grows in both prairies and open woods. Ironically, this plant was used by Native Americans as both a love charm in food and as a poison used to against their enemies, as this species is known to have toxic properties. Seeds are contained in a chambered capsule with two divisions, and once ripe, the capsules split open and wind action helps scatter the up to three hundred seeds within each capsule. Although seeds can germinate the same season as when they are released, usually they germinate the following spring and produce a basal rosette that will flower the following season. Also, the lack of a lower petal lip denies insects a perch to rest on, favoring hovering organisms like bees and hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have long bills that allow them to reach the nectar rewards at the end of long, tubular flowers. However, like most red flowers, this species is especially adapted for pollination by hummingbirds. This is somewhat surprising since the color red is difficult for insects to see. A variety of insects visit paintbrush flowers, especially bees. Despite being obligate parasites for part of their lives, these plants do rely on pollinators for reproduction. Like foxglove, Indian Paintbrush is a biennial. These plants are hemiparasites, meaning that although these plants are green and can photosynthesize, they also have the ability to sequester nutrients from other organisms, in this case, from perennial grasses. Indian Paintbrush is what botanists call a scroph, a member of the same family as foxglove and snapdragon. lutescens), as well as a separate closely related species that also has yellow bracts ( Castilleja sessiliflora). Also, there is a form of this species that has yellow bracts ( Castilleja coccinea f. The actual flower petals are rather inconspicuous, although the tip of the sepals are tinged with red as well. The showy red structures are technically bracts, a type of modified leaf, and not petals. The genus name “ Castilleja” is named after Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo, and “ coccinea” means “red,” referring to the red bracts that surround the flowers. This plant is also called painted cup for the showy cup-like bracts. This species was formerly placed in the Figwort family (Scrophullariaceae), which was a hodgepodge of genera that didn’t fit well in other families. Indian paintbrush is an attractive member of the parasitic Broomrape family (Orobancaceae).

Scarlet paintbrush