Cusick's Paintbrush, Cusick's Indian 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........June 23-25, 2006.

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.

Cusick's Paintbrush is a plant of moist grassy meadows from the valleys to mid-montane meadows.

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.

Cusick's paintbrush as seen blooming in vernally meadows west of FS Road #4215 in Antler Prairie, Ochoco National Forest...........May 27, 2016.

Duplicate images of some of the photos above showing labelled details of Cusick's paintbrush.

The photo at left 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. The photo at right shows Cusick's paintbrush in bloom in wet meadows along Forest Road #30 just southwest of the old Cold Springs Guard Station, Ochoco National Forest.......May 27, 2018.

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).

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.

Close-up (left) of the inflorescence of Cusick's paintbrush as seen on Steptoe Butte in eastern Washington.......June 22, 2009. The photo at right shows the growing stems of Cusick's paintbrush as seen in moist meadows along FS Road #42 and Johnson Creek on forest service lands just west of Big Summit Prairie, Ochoco National Forest........April 29, 2016.

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).

Cusick's paintbrush as seen in Summit Prairie, Malheur National Forest...........May 28, 2014.

Close-ups of the floral bracts of Cusick's Paintbrush.

Cusick's paintbrush as seen (left) 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. The photo at center shows Cusick's paintbrush as seen at the east end of Big Summit Prairie near the old Cold Springs Guard Station, Ochoco National Forest.......May 10, 2017. The photo at right shows Cusick's paintbrush as seen in meadows near the juntion ofFS Roads 42 & 4240 at the southeastern corner of Big Summit Prairie, Ochoco National Forest........May 21, 2017.

Cusick's paintbrush as seen atop Sourdough Ridge adjacent to the head of Sourdough Gulch, Asotin Wildlife Area, Asotin County, WA.........June 3, 2017.

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. The photo at right shows the 'lutea' form of Cusick's paintbrush as seen in grasslands atop Sheep Ridge, Umatilla National Forest.....June 17, 2023.