Paintbrush plant family name8/28/2023 As described by Peter Baye, the taxonomy of coastal Indian paintbrush populations is complex (USFWS 2001, see page 111). Leaves are alternate, sessile, and entire to deeply divided into long linear lobes.Įxcept for one Asian species, the paintbrushes are restricted to the New World, with a center of diversity in western North America. The irregular tubes have a straight, beak-like upper tip and a much-reduced lower lip with three teeth or swollen pouches. The actual corollas of Castilleja are typical “scroph” flowers, consisting of fused, bilateral tubes. While these bracts, which subtend the terminal spike-like inflorescences, are commonly bright red, they also come in shades of orange, yellow, purple, violet, rose and even white and green. The genus Castilleja is one of those trickster plants with brightly colored bracts easily mistaken for petals. Although some Castilleja species are capable of surviving and reproducing in the greenhouse without a host, they are more vigorous and more likely to flower when a host plant is available. These “hemiparasites” make parasitic connections to the roots of a wide variety of angiosperm host plants by inserting finger-like projections called haustoria, absorbing water and nutrients. Although the above-ground growth of paintbrushes is green and self-supporting, like any proper plant, members of the genus are actually facultative or partial parasites. Named after the Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), the genus Castilleja is comprised of some 200 species of annuals and subshrubs. I won’t pretend to understand the reasons, and I can neither defend nor criticize the wisdom of these changes. The paintbrushes, along with the bird’s-beaks (Cordylanthus), owl’s clover (Orthocarpus), lousewort (Pedicularis), and Johnny-tuck (Tryphysaria) have been moved to the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). Like the subject of my previous column (Mimulus cardinalis), the genus Castilleja has also been separated from the familiar figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Whether on California’s scenic coastline, in the Sierra or the Mojave Desert, Indian paintbrush always elicits special attention. Some used for medicinal purposes.Even still, after all these years of exploring hills and dales, there’s one group of wildflowers of which I cannot resist stopping to photograph. Uses: Contains selenium and was reportedly used by some American Indians as a hair oil. So, each spring the colors of the sunset are laid across the land as a reminder of the passion of that one boy who wanted so much to capture the color and beauty of a sunset. And there where each brush landed, a wildflower of that color grew and spread across the landscape. As the boy tries to paint the sunset, he tosses each paintbrush with a different color of the sunset to the ground. In another version a woman gives the boy a white canvas from a deerskin. In one version of the legend, the Great Spirit gives the boy brushes of paint from the colors of the sunset. The boy decides to paint the colors and beauty of the sunset. Legends: American Indian (possibly Cherokee) legend says that a young boy who could not become a warrior because of his size was encouraged by his father to paint what he saw. Semi-parasitic: Needs the help of grasses or bluebonnets to thrive I love finding a wildflower in its full glory as well as up close in smaller groups.Ĭommon names: Prairie paintbrush, Downy Indian paintbrushĬolors: Red, Pink, Puple - also varieties in yellow and orange I have yet to see an entire field of Castilleja purpurea which I have seen with the Castilleja indivisa. It wasn't until later, I finally found the Castilleja purpurea (Prairie or Downy Paintbrush) which to me is really more like a paintbrush in colors and shape. My first experience with one of the members of the Castilleja genus was with the more commonly seen red Castilleja indivisa (Texas or Indian Paintbrush). Prairie Paintbrush RR-501, San Saba County
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