[Paintbrushes: The Genus Castilleja East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Common Paintbrush
Castilleja miniata var. miniata
Synonyms: Castilleja crispula, Castilleja dixonii, Castilleja miniata var. dixonii, Castilleja miniata ssp. miniata, Castilleja pallida var. miniata
The photo above shows the inflorescence of common paintbrush as seen along Forest Road #40 near Sunset Point in the Umatilla National Forest of southeastern Washington. Note the narrow lateral calyx lobes which are deeply cleft between them.
The
photo at right shows close-ups of the leaves, bracts, corolla and calyx of common
paintbrush from Jackman Park, Steens Mt......June 26, 2000.
Characteristics:
Common paintbrush is an attractive perennial wildflower with
several erect stems from 20-80 cm high rising from a woody base. The stems may
be branched and its herbage varies from smooth to short-haired glandular hairy.
The leaves are narrowly linear or lanceolate in shape and usually have entire
margins, although sometimes a few will have lobes. The leaves alternate on the
stems. As with other paintbrushes, it is a root parasite that extracts water
and organic nutrients from its hosts.
The leaf-like bracts in the inflorescence are showy. They oblong-ovate
in shape and are usually toothed or cleft with pointed lobes. The flowers are
in the axils of the bracts. The tubular calyx is narrow and 15-30 mm long. It
is deeply and subequally cleft above and below. The side lobes are divided into
2 linear segments from 3-9 mm long. The corolla is 20-40 mm long, with the petals
fused to form a tube. The upper part of the corolla is known as the galea. It
is about 3/4 the length to as long as the tube and 5 times or more longer than
the dark green, thickened, lower lip. The calyx and bracts are a bright scarlet
or bright red (occasionally yellow) while the corolla are greenish.
Habitat:
Common paintbrush may be found in meadows and in open woods
from low to moderate elevation in the mountains.
Range:
Common paintbrush is a widespread paintbrush species in western
North America. It may be found from Alaska south to California and east to the
Rocky Mountains and hence south to Arizona and New Mexico.
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Common paintbrush spotted along the Skyline Trail #385 about three-quarters of a mile uphill to the west of High Lake, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness......July 8, 2023.
The photo above shows of the unlobed stem leaves of common paintbrush as seen along Forest Road #40 near Sunset Point in the Umatilla National Forest of southeastern Washington.
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Common paintbrush as seen along the Canyon Mountain Trail #218 near the crossing of upper Little Pine Creek, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness..........August 19, 2011.
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Additional photos of common paintbrush as seen above 8400' along the Onion Creek Trail on the east side of Strawberry Mountain, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness............August 18, 2011.
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Examples of common paintbrush photographed about 50 meters downhill below the East Rim Viewpoint on the steep east-facing slopes of the Steens Mountain, Harney County, Oregon...........September 1, 2011. Note the galeas which are short enough to approach those of Castilleja peckiana which has galeas up to 13 mm long. However, this latter species has shallowly cleft lateral calyx lobes.
Close-up of the corolla tube, calyx and floral bract of Peck's paintbrush as seen along the Road's End Trail 201A, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.........August 18, 2011. Note that the lateral lobes of the calyx are narrow and fairly deeply lobed.
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Additional close-ups of common paintbrush as seen along the Road's End Trail 201A, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.........August 18, 2011.
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Common Paintbrush as seen still in bloom along the South Loop Road about one mile west of the East Rim Viewpoint, Steens Mountain..........September 20, 2015.
The photo above shows a close-up of the corolla
of common paintbrush. The galea is commonly more than 14 mm long. Photographed
at Jackman Park, Steens Mt......June 26, 2000.
A nice clump of common paintbrush blooming along the Road's End Trail 201A, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness........July 18, 2013.
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Common paintbrush in bloom along the Wildhorse Lake shoreline, Steens Mountain, Harney County, Oregon..........July 10, 2014.
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Common paintbrush as seen in bloom along the South Loop Road about one mile downhill to the west from the East Rim Viewpoint, Steens Mountain..........July 9, 2014.
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Common paintbrush still in bloom at left in meadows at Silver Creek Marsh Campground, Fremont-Winema National Forest........June 20, 2020. The photo at right shows common paintbrush in bloom along Mud Creek at Mud Creek Campground, Fremont-Winema National Forest......July 18, 2022.
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Common paintbrush blooming in meadows along the Hanan Trail #142 about one and one-half miles upstream along the Sycan River from Forest Road #28, Fremont-Winema National Forest.......June 17, 2020.
Paul Slichter