Looking For a Colorful, Drought-Tolerant Perennial? Meet the Indian Paintbrush Fortunately for you, these Colorado plants are easy to add to your own landscape and will thrive happily year after year. Upon closer examination, the Indian paintbrush is a small to medium-sized plant with stalks of linear leaves topped by bright red bracts. If so, there’s a good chance you’ve spotted stands of Indian paintbrush ( Castilleja ssp). Madeleine P.If you’ve spent any amount of time gazing at our beautiful Colorado landscape, no doubt you’ve noticed a couple of fiery spots of color dotting the hillsides and valleys from March through September. Mason School of Business’s Master of Accounting Program You can highlight additional information here or add more related links. Print.Ĭlick here to go back to ES 203 Home Page. Springfield, IL: Authority of the State of Illinois, 1951. Its roots will attach to and absorb some nutrients and water from the roots of certain other plants. The plant is also called the scarlet painted cup. Named after Domingo Castillejo, a Spanish botanist.Pollinators:This Missouri native It is primarily pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds who can transfer the pollen long distances between typically small and scattered populations of this plant. This plant was also used as a secret love charm in food and as a poison, “to destroy your enemies.” Nevada Indian tribes used the plant to treat sexually transmitted diseases and to enhance the immune system. Humans: The flowers of Indian paintbrush are edible, and were consumed in moderation by various Native American tribes as a condiment with other fresh greens. The Obijwe used a hairwash made from Indian paintbrush to make their hair glossy and full bodied, and as a treatment for rheumatism. The high selenium content of this plant has been cited as the reason for its effectiveness for these purposes. If you have any information regarding this, feel free to contact Kassandra Morfin at with other species No definite examples of extreme importance to the ecosystem have been found for this species. Orange - Present historically, now extirpated. Light green - Present in county, native in state. The showiness of the plant comes from the brightly-colored, leafy bract that grows under each flower.ĭistribution range: In the sandy country of Illinois, the Indian Paintbrush thrives, but is not common. They are common in mesic, dry, and sandy prairies, usually in areas that have some seepage during the spring found through tallgrass region from western Minnesota and eastern Kansas eastward. The 3-lobed, scarlet-tipped bracts that all but hide the small 2-lipped greenish-yellowish flowers and their protruding pistils. The stem can grow up to 2′ tall, but usually no more than 12″-20″ high.įlower | Seeds: The flowers are at the top of the plant in a dense spike which elongates as the season progresses. The slender, erect, and unbranched stem is hairy, with clustering light green root leaves. Leaf | Stem: The spikey leaves are alternate, yellow to bright orange, and usually divided into 3 narrow, widely spread lobes. Photo courtesy of Dr Thomas G Barnes, U.S. The Indian paintbrush of the West was first seen by the earliest Spanish explorers and adventurers who penetrated that wild and unknown wilderness of sage and rocks and rattlesnakes in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola.
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