scarlet Indian paintbrush

(Castilleja coccinea)

Conservation Status
scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Midwest

FAC - Facultative

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Scarlet Indian paintbrush is a 5 to 24 tall, erect, annual or biennial, hemiparasitic forb that rises on usually a single stem from a taproot rhizome caudex.

In the first year it develops a rosette of basal leaves. In the second year it sends up flowering stems. The stems are ascending to erect, slender, usually unbranched, and covered with short, fine hairs.

Basal leaves are inversely lance-shaped to egg-shaped, unlobed, up to 3¼ long, and up to ¾ wide. They are often present at flowering.

Stem leaves are variable in form, linear to lance-shaped, 1¼ to 3¼ long, and up to wide. Some leaves are cleft with 3 to 5 linear lobes, the central lobe longer and broader than the lateral lobes. Some leaves are unlobed. The upper surface is hairy. The lower surface is hairy along the veins. The margins are untoothed.

The inflorescence is a dense, red, 1½ to 2 long spike at the end of the stem. When in fruit the spike is 4 to 8 long.

Each flower is subtended by a large leaf-like bract. The bract is lance-shaped, usually deeply 3-lobed, occasionally 5-lobed. It is usually either green at the base and scarlet at the tip or almost entirely scarlet. Occasionally the bracts are yellow. The calyx is to 1 long and divided into 2 rounded lobes. It is colored like the bracts. The corolla is inconspicuous, consisting of 5 petals fused for their entire length into a greenish-yellow tube that is 13 16 to 11 16 long, slightly longer than the calyx. They are usually at least partially concealed by the colorful bracts.

The fruit is an asymmetrical, egg-shaped, long capsule containing numerous seeds.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

5 to 24

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Greenish-yellow with scarlet or yellow bracts

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

 

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Wet to dry. Prairies, meadows.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

May to August

 
     
 

Polymorphism

 
 

Populations of scarlet Indian paintbrush in the upper Midwest show a high degree of bract polymorphism. The bract color in one population may be predominantly scarlet while in a nearby population the bract color is predominantly yellow. A recent study (Ki, et al., 2019) showed that where pollinators were abundant, the scarlet morph outproduced the yellow morph. Where pollinators were scarce, the yellow morph outproduced the scarlet morph. Plants with yellow bracts have been named Castilleja coccinea f. lutescens, while those with scarlet bracts have been named Castilleja coccinea f. coccinea.

 
     
 

Parasitism

 
 

Plants in the genus Castilleja are hemiparasitic. They obtain water and mineral nutrients from the roots of grasses and forbs, but are also photosynthetic, producing chlorophyll. Though it can survive on its own, it has a forty-fold increase in growth when it parasitizes the roots of other plants.

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.

 
  6/8/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Asteranae  
 

Order

Lamiales (mints, plantains, olives, and allies)  
 

Family

Orobanchaceae (broomrape)  
  Tribe Pedicularideae  
  Genus Castilleja (paintbrushes)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Castilleja ludoviciana

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Indian paintbrush

painted cup

painted-cup

painted-cup paintbrush

scarlet Indian paintbrush

scarlet Indian-paintbrush

scarlet paintbrush

scarlet painted-cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Habitat

 
    scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)      
           
 

Plant

 
    scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)   scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)  
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)   scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)  
           
 

Yellow morph plant

 
    scarlet Indian paintbrush (lutescens)   scarlet Indian paintbrush (lutescens)  
           
 

Yellow morph inflorescence

 
    scarlet Indian paintbrush (lutescens)      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Castilleja coccinea (Indian Paintbrush)
Allen Chartier
 
  Castilleja coccinea (Indian Paintbrush)  

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)
PrairieMoonNursery
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 24, 2010

http://www.prairiemoon.com May 17. Indian Paintbrush provides that rare red color in a prairie but can be difficult from seed - it needs a host plant. We have had success w/ drier prairie grasses: Little Blustem, Side-oats Grama, Hairy Grama, Blue Grama, June Grass or a drier Sedge (Carex).

   
  The Castilleja Code
College First Science First
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 31, 2012

A College First 2012 research project presentation at the Chicago Botanic Garden

by Danya Springer, Urban Prep Academy.

Mentors: Anna Braum, Plant Science and Conservation; Evan Eiffler, REU Intern

Video services by John Sanner

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
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  Sandra Shirek
6/12/2020

Location: Chippewa National Forest (Woodtick Trail)

   
           
 
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