Home » Plants & Animals » North American Wildflowers » Dipped In Paint

Dipped In Paint

© Gregg Pasterick

My infatuation with Northern California began with a variety of lupines, and has now taken up residence with Applegate's Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei). It blankets the hillside across the Yuba River with fiery red, thrives among the Goldenrod, Fireweed and St. Johnswort in the yard, and flourishes across the street, among the pines along Van Norden Lake. Calliope Hummingbirds buzz about its blossoms like big greenish bees. Its color is the sort one would expect to find in Joseph's coat of many colors. It is a brush dipped in colorful paint.

Applegate’s Paintbrush is one of over two hundred species of paintbrush in the Figwort (or Snapdragon) (Scrophulariaceae) family. This species comes in a variety of shades of red, pink and sometimes yellow, boastful and conspicuous as they often grow in abundance, covering large areas. And though they are easy to recognize, individual species of paintbrush are difficult to tell apart. That several species are called Indian Paintbrush only makes it more difficult.

The bright colors dripping from Applegate’s Paintbrush, like those of all paintbrush species, are not the petals of the flower, but the ragged-edged bracts found below the flowers and sepals. The united petals (tubular corolla) of the flower are typically small and inconspicuous, tucked neatly between the bracts. Also, though these plants do photosynthesize, they are partially parasitic on the roots of other plants.

Applegate’s Paintbrush and its many subspecies, found from Oregon to Baja California, grow in dry or rocky areas, from sagebrush scrub to subalpine forests. They range in height from 8 to 20 inches, and the entire plant is sticky and the leaves crisp and wavy-edged.

Other western species include Giant Red or Indian Paintbrush (C. miniata), Purple Owl’s-clover (C. exserta), Valley Tassels (C. attenuata), Hairy Owl’s-clover (C. tenuis), Cream Sacs (C. rubicundula), Texas Paintbrush (C. indivisa), and Lemmon’s or Meadow Paintbrush (C. lemmonii).

Indian Paintbrush (C. linariaefolia) is Wyoming’s state flower (in spite of occasional attempts adopt other wildflowers in its stead).

Species in the Central and Eastern U.S. include Purple Painted Cup (C. purpurea), Downy Painted Cup (C. sessiliflora), Pale Painted Cup (C. septentrionalis), and Indian Paintbrush or Painted Cup (C. coccinea). This last species, which I first happened upon in Western North Carolina in early June, is perhaps the most well known of these more eastern species. It grows in meadows, prairies and damp sandy soil.

Native Americans collected Indian Paintbrush for medicinal purposes. A solution made from the roots, and taken in small amounts, was thought to be a cure for venereal diseases. The Hopi made a decoction of the plant that was used to prevent conception, and to treat excessive menstrual discharge.

Applegate's Paintbrush - Soda Springs, CA

The copyright of the article Dipped In Paint in North American Wildflowers is owned by . Permission to republish Dipped In Paint in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.