indian paintbrushes

Member of paintbrushes (genus Castilleja)
broomrape family (family Orobanchaceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Key features:

hairs woolly and much-branched vs. glabrous/puberulent/bristly and unbranched vs. glandular proximal to inflorescence
leaf shape (linear, lanceolate, or oblong/rounded), wavy-margined or not
corolla drooping out through calyx sinus or not

Perennial herb to subshrub
stems generally branched
generally drier places

felt paintbrush
Castilleja foliolosa

felt paintbrush
Castilleja foliolosa

hairs woolly, felt-like, much-branched, ± white to ± gray
leaves 10–50 mm, ± linear; lobes 0–3, tips obtuse; generally puberulent or glabrous (bristly)

coast paintbrush
Castilleja affinis

coast paintbrush
Castilleja affinis

generally bristly-puberulent, nonglandular
calyx long-nonglandular-hairy and short-glandular-hairy
corolla not curved out through abaxial side of calyx sinus
leaves 20–80 mm, ± lanceolate, generally not fleshy; lobes 0–5, tips ± rounded [not true?]

littoral paintbrush
Castilleja litoralis

± glabrous to sparsely puberulent
calyx long-nonglandular-hairy and short-glandular-hairy
corolla not curved out through abaxial side of calyx sinus
leaves 30–80 mm, ± oblong, generally entire
generally dry sea bluffs

monterey paintbrush
Castilleja latifolia

monterey paintbrush
Castilleja latifolia

± bristly, generally nonglandular
corolla not curved out through abaxial side of calyx sinus
leaves ± fleshy, oblong to rounded, lobes 0–3, truncate-rounded; hairs generally bristly or shaggy
common on the peninsula + Alum Rock

camp martin paintbrush
Castilleja martini

plant glandular-puberulent to glandular-sticky-hairy proximal to inflorescence
corolla not curved out through abaxial side of calyx sinus
leaves 20–70 mm, ± lanceolate, generally wavy-margined
Marin, Mt. Diablo, Sierra Azul, and scattered outside the bay area

franciscan paintbrush
Castilleja subinclusa var. franciscana

franciscan paintbrush
Castilleja subinclusa var. franciscana

± puberulent to hairs long- and short-glandular
corolla (including lower lip) generally curved out through abaxial calyx sinus [e.g. the yellow-green corolla droops out of the red calyx]
leaves 30–80 mm, lanceolate; lobes 0–3 [lobes are rare?]
peninsula from Thornewood north and east bay from Chabot north

wight’s paintbrush
Castilleja wightii

wight’s paintbrush
Castilleja wightii

densely long-bristly and glandular-sticky
corolla not curved out through abaxial side of calyx sinus
plant glandular-puberulent to -sticky-hairy close to inflorescence

lesser paintbrush
Castilleja minor var. spiralis

annual
stem ± simple
wet places
leaves and bracts entire, lance-linear
Sierra Azul, Mt. Tam

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

5 observed taxons / 5 unobserved taxons / 2 keys

Chris’s observations: 70 (49 are research grade)

Locations:

Months:

Jan.: 2
Feb.: 4
Mar.: 10
Apr.: 14
May: 13
Jun.: 11
Jul.: 8
Aug.: 4
Sep.: 1
Oct.: 2
Nov.: 1

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