Common Red Paintbrush: A Bright, Partly Parasitic Wildflower

Common red paintbrush. NPS / Neal Herbert.

Walking through a meadow of green and brown, you may spot a flash of red — a flower with red spikes bursting from the stem like fireworks, so bright it looks dipped in paint. That's common red paintbrush.

What it is

• Castilleja miniata goes by many names: common red paintbrush, giant red Indian paintbrush, meadow paintbrush and scarlet paintbrush.
• It belongs to the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae) — more than 2,000 species, most of them parasitic — and to the genus Castilleja, the Indian paintbrushes.
• It grows 20–80 cm (about 8–30 inches) tall. Its colorful parts are flat, lance-shaped, slightly hairy bracts, ranging from bright red to pale orange.
• It's a perennial, returning every year.
• Bees and hummingbirds pollinate it, drawn by its color and the nectar at the base of its flower tube.

An orange-colored Castilleja miniata. NPS photo.

Where it grows

It ranges in the United States from Alaska to Arizona and is common in the Pacific Northwest, in open woods and meadows, thickets, grassy slopes, tidal marshes, clearings, gravel bars and roadsides, at low to high elevations. It blooms from March to October.

In the Klamath region you can see it at Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve and Redwood National and State Parks.

A partial parasite

Common red paintbrush is a hemiparasite: it makes some of its own food by photosynthesis but also takes some from other plants. Its roots connect with the roots of neighbors and draw off their water and nutrients. That lets it survive dry conditions and spread more widely — but it also makes it hard to transplant or grow from seed.

Many Native American tribes, including the Gitksan of British Columbia, have used Castilleja flowers to treat illnesses such as bleeding and coughs, and as a condiment. The leaves and roots, however, contain selenium, which can be toxic if eaten.

It is not currently a species of conservation concern.

Fun facts

• It can be confused with seashore paintbrush (C. litoralis), common on Oregon's seaside bluffs, which has stems curved at the base and hairy, lance- or egg-shaped leaves.
• Alpine paintbrush (C. rhexifolia) looks similar but is usually under 30 cm tall, colored crimson to purple, and grows at high elevations along the coast and in the Cascades.
• Castilleja honors the 18th-century Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo. Miniata comes from minium, a red lead paint used in medieval illuminated manuscripts.

Sources

Based on "Common Red Paintbrush," a Featured Creature article (October 2023) by Jeri Stoller, Scientists in Parks intern, NPS Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network; rewritten in hubnx's own words.