denseflower indian paintbrush

Castilleja densiflora

Member of owl’s clover
paintbrushes (genus Castilleja)
broomrape family (family Orobanchaceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
red purple, pink in flowering plants

Only ssp. densiflora is found in the bay area.

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• corolla beak straight, puberulent, appearing almost glabrous in comparison
• the spherical stigma is exserted on the top of the (erect) corolla beak [example]
• inflorescence 20–40 mm wide
• corolla wider distally, pouches generally 3–7 mm wide
• stigma generally ± exserted
• branches 0 or few from mid-stem
• leaf lance-linear, < 3 mm wide
• common, particularly in the Santa Cruz range

Toxicity of paint brush, painted cup (Castilleja spp.):
0 – Non-toxic.

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Chris’s observations: 25 (24 are research grade)

Locations:

• Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve: 8
• Coyote Lake / Harvey Bear Ranch CP: 5
• Henry Coe SP: 3
• Máyyan 'Ooyákma Coyote Ridge OSP: 2
• Big Basin SP
• Calero CP
• Foothills Nature Preserve, Palo Alto
• Long Ridge OSP
• San Jose, CA
• Stevens Creek CP
• UCSC Campus Natural Reserve

Months:

• Mar.: 3
• Apr.: 14
• May: 7
• Jun.: 1

For more details, use advanced search.

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Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – CalPhotos – Jepson eFlora – FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora