We look forward to spotting paintbrush as we hike the trails in late spring and summer. The showy bright red bracts symbolize the arrival of warm weather and the beauty of summer flower meadows.

• Castilleja miniata or common paintbrush is a perennial in the figwort family that grows up to 80 cm high.
• Castilleja hispida or harsh paintbrush grows at lower, drier elevations in our area.
• Castilleja rhexifolia or alpine paintbrush grows in subalpine and alpine regions of our area.
• Castilleja parviflora or small paintbrush is smaller and grows at higher elevations above the treeline.
• From a woody base (and rhizomes) unbranched stems rise with lanceolate to linear alternate leaves along the stem.
• The terminal inflorescence consists of hairy and sticky red bracts shaped like the end of a paintbrush. The tubular flowers are inconspicuous and green or yellow-green.
• There are more than 200 species of annual and perennial paintbrush and they are widespread across North America and are even found in South America and northwest Asia.

• Capsules with many seeds form after flowering.
• Paintbrush is widespread, found in open forests, grasslands, meadows, hillsides, and disturbed areas, from mid to alpine elevations.
• Often referred to as Indian paintbrush or prairie fire.
• Although the plant is edible, small quantities are recommended since the plant tends to absorb selenium.
• Some people pull out the corolla tube to suck the sweet nectar.
• The plant is semi-parasitic in a complex relation with the surrounding flora so transplanting usually doesn’t work.
• All photos taken by the author. Click an image for a lightbox and caption.

We look forward to coming across paintbrush on the trails each year.

Like a small grove of candles of red flames in the meadow….