Castilleja miniata
Castilleja nervata
common paintbrush, common red paintbrush, giant red Indian paintbrush, great red paintbrush, scarlet Indian paintbrush, scarlet or common or giant red paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush
trans-Pecos Indian paintbrush
few to many, erect to ascending, rarely proximally decumbent or creeping and rooting at nodes, usually branched, glabrous, glabrate, or hairy, hairs spreading to ± retrorse, short to long, soft to stiff, rarely stipitate-glandular.
solitary or few, ascending to erect, straight, unbranched or branched, hairs dense, spreading, long, stiff, eglandular, mixed with deflexed, short stipitate-glandular ones.
green to purple, linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or ovate, (1.5–)3–8(–9.5) cm, thin and not fleshy or slightly to moderately thickened and slightly fleshy, margins plane, rarely wavy, flat to involute, whole leaf sometimes recurved downward, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes rounded;
lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.
green to purple-tinged, linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate or oblanceolate, 1.5–8 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, involute, 0-lobed, apex rounded to acute.
3–15(–22) × 1.5–5.5 cm, often bearing a thin, white, powdery exudate, especially on bract surfaces;
bracts greenish, scarlet, red, red-orange, or pale orange throughout, sometimes pink, magenta, pink-purple, yellow, greenish yellow, white, or salmon throughout, or proximally greenish, distally colored as above, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 0–5(–7)-lobed, central lobes sometimes distally apiculate;
lobes erect, linear to lanceolate, oblong, or oblanceolate, short or medium length, arising near or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse, rounded, or truncate, lateral ones rounded to acute or acuminate.
3–16 × 2–4.5 cm;
bracts proximally green to deep purple, distally red to red-orange or orange, sometimes with a pale medial band, lanceolate to oblanceolate to ovate or obovate, 0(–3)-lobed;
lobes when present upright, ± triangular, short, arising from distal portion, apex obtuse to rounded or truncate.
0–5 mm.
slightly curved, 20–48 mm;
tube 12–26 mm;
abaxial lip usually not exserted, though often visible in front calyx cleft, beak partially to fully exserted;
beak adaxially green to yellow-green or whitish, (9–)14–25 mm;
abaxial lip incurved or ascending, deep green or green, sometimes deep purple or yellowish, reduced, not inflated, visible in front cleft, 0.5–3.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak (to ca. 33% as long as beak in some populations of var. miniata);
teeth incurved or erect, green or white, 0.7–1.5 mm.
straight, 15–24 mm;
tube 11–13 mm; subequal to calyx or tip slightly exserted;
beak adaxially whitish to pinkish, 5–11 mm;
abaxial lip pale to deep green, reduced, 1–2 mm, 10–20% as long as beak;
teeth incurved, green, 1–2.5 mm.
colored as bracts, 15–38 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–24 mm, 35–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)3–8(–12) mm, 5–30% of calyx length;
lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse.
proximally light green, distally deep green, deep purple, or blackish, 15–24 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 5–9 mm, 25–45% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 0–0.5 mm, 0–3% of calyx length;
lobes oblong, sometimes emarginate, apex obtuse, rounded, or obliquely truncate.
= 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144.
= 24, 48.
Castilleja miniata
Castilleja nervata
Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).
Castilleja miniata is widely recognized as the common scarlet paintbrush. It is highly variable and has five levels of polyploidy. Nonetheless, it remains fairly well defined morphologically across its wide range. Native Americans use it medicinally. A probable hybrid with C. septentrionalis from southern Nevada was named C. ×porterae Cockerell.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Castilleja nervata is a common and widespread Mexican species, from northern Chihuahua and Sonora south to central Oaxaca. It has medicinal value to indigenous peoples of the Sierra Madre. In the flora area, C. nervata is known from a single, presumably extant population in the Chiricahua Mountains in Cochise County, though there are historical records from the Rincon and Santa Rita mountains. The sole recently verified population is on private property and is endangered.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Bracts distally pale yellowish, pale orange, or salmon, sometimes pale red; n, c British Columbia, adjacent wc Alberta, s Yukon. | var. fulva |
1. Bracts distally scarlet, red, or orange-red, sometimes orange, pink, pink-purple, magenta, pale orange, yellow, greenish yellow, or white; widespread in much of w North America south of the arctic. | → 2 |
2. Stems glabrous or glabrate proximally, hairy medially and distally; leaves appressed-ascending, ascending, or spreading, often thickened and slightly fleshy; calyx lobe apices acuminate; Cuyamaca, Laguna, San Bernardino and e San Gabriel mountains of sw California. | var. oblongifolia |
2. Stems glabrous or sparsely hairy proximally and medially, subglabrous or sparsely hairy distally; leaves spreading to ascending, thin and not fleshy (except sometimes in var. dixonii); calyx lobe apices acute to acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America. | → 3 |
3. Leaves linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse; calyx lobe apices acute, sometimes acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America, except near coast. | var. miniata |
3. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to ovate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices rounded to obtuse, sometimes acute to acuminate; calyx lobe apices acute to obtuse; coastal, from extreme nw Oregon northward to British Columbia. | var. dixonii |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
