Cusick's Paintbrush
Castilleja cusickii
Synonyms: Castilleja camporum, Castilleja lutea, Castilleja pallida var. camporum, Castilleja pannosa
The photo above is a close-up of the inflorescence
of Cusick's Paintbrush. Photographed on Chewelah Peak in northeastern Washington..................
The
photo at right shows a cluster of Cusick's Paintbrush in the Malheur N.F.
Characteristics:
Cusick's Paintbrush is an attractive yellow perennial with clusters of several
unbranched stems ascending 15-40 cm high. The herbage consists of many short,
gland-tipped hairs. The leaves are ascending and often appressed to the stems.
They are lanceolate to linear in shape, with 1-2 linear to filiform lateral
segments. They measure from 2.5-4.5 cm long.
The glandular-haired inflorescence is pale yellow in color. The bracts are
wide and lanceolate to ovoid, with obtuse to rounded tips. 1-4 curved pairs
of lateral segments may be found on the margin of the bracts. The calyx is 20-29
mm long, the surface more deeply cleft below than on the back, and the lateral
calyx lobes cleft shallowly into 2 rounded segments from 0.5-3 mm long. The
corolla is 20-25 mm long with the galea short, measuring from 4-7 mm long. The
lower lip is fairly prominently pouched and is 2.5-4.5 mm long.
Habitat:
Cusick's Paintbrush is a plant of moist grassy meadows from the valleys to
mid-montane meadows.
Range:
Cusick's Paintbrush may be found from southern British Columbia south through
eastern Washington to the Blue Mts. of Oregon and east through Idaho to western
Montana and northwestern Wyoming.
The photo above shows Cusick's paintbrush as photographed along the western section of Forest Road #46 near Roberts Butte in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.....................June 25, 2008.
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The 4 photos seen directly above show close-up views of Cusick's paintbrush as photographed along the western section of Forest Road #46 near Roberts Butte in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.....................June 25, 2008. Click each image to see an enlarged view (3x).
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From left to right, the 3 photos above show close-ups of an inflorescence bract, calyx, and corolla of Cusick's paintbrush. Photographed on Chewelah Peak in northeastern Washington.................. Click each photo to see an enlarged view (2x).
Close-up of Cusick's paintbrush as seen on Steptoe Butte in eastern Washington............June 22, 2009.
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Additional close-ups of Cusick's paintbrush as seen along Forest Service Road #16 in western Logan Valley, Malheur National Forest..............June 30, 2010. A possible host seen in the lowermost photo is tapertip penstemon (Penstemon attenuatus var. attenuatus).
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Close-ups of the floral bracts of Cusick's Paintbrush.
Cusick's paintbrush as seen at Summit Prairie, Malheur National Forest....................June 26, 2011. Birdsbeak buttercup (Ranunculus orthorhynchus), velvelt lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus), and Elmer's cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri) can all be seen around the paintbrush as its possible hosts.
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These photos show close-ups of the inflorescence and upper
stem leaves of a colorful form of Cusick's paintbrush as seen along Oregon Highway 3 north
of Enterprise, OR..........May 31, 1999.
A colorful form of Cusick's paintbrush as seen from the Granny View - Hat Pt Road,
Wallowa-Whitman N.F...........July 8, 1999.
Paul Slichter