![]() ![]() Notes:Īppears to hybridize frequently with Castilleja unalaschcensis, and perhaps also C. Clusters are dense spikes that elongate as the plant matures. The bracts are showy and seem more petal-like, hairy, lobed in 3 to 5 parts, red to orange (rarely yellow) at the tip end and usually green at the base. Fruits:Ĭapsules, 9-12 mm long seeds many, the seed-coats loose, net-veined. Individual flowers are about inch long, tubular, green to yellow with a protruding style that often curves down at the tip. Inflorescence a prominently bracted terminal spike, the bracts bright red or scarlet to orange, occasionally crimson or rarely yellow, lanceolate to oblong-egg-shaped, with 1 to 2 pairs of sharp lobes or teeth near the top or rarely entire, hairy and often sticky corollas greenish, 20-40 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip beak-like, short-hairy, 9-20 mm long, 3/4 to about as long as the tube and 5 or more times the length of the thickened, 3-toothed lower lip calyces red to scarlet, hairy, 15-30 mm long, deeply 2-lobed, these primary lobes again divided into 2 linear to lanceolate, sharp-pointed, 3- to 9-mm long segments stamens 4. Leaves:Īlternate, lance-linear to lanceolate, 3-10 cm long, entire, long-tapering to sharp-pointed tip, appressed-rough-hairy to nearly smooth. This is a great plant for experimentation, and a species that we still have a lot to learn about.Perennial herb from a stout, scaly, somewhat woody stem-base stems several and clustered or solitary on rhizomes, ascending to erect, 20-80 cm tall, simple or sometimes branched above, more or less smooth below, hairy above especially in the inflorescence. ![]() Fall-planting as a single species in plug trays, combined with fertilizer applications to support the plant growth without a host, until it can be transplanted into the field.And even cutting back a host species to the ground then planting the seed into the stem or crown of the host plant in the fall,.Sowing in plug trays with a host plant, then transplanting the two species together into the landscape,.Direct sowing into meadows adjacent to a host plant,.Various propagation techniques that people have used with some success include: With this complicated host dependency, giant red paintbrush can be a challenge to establish. ![]() Scott Earle, in Idaho Mountain Wildflowers, describes it as 'spidery. It is a leafy, hairy plant, up to about a foot high. It is found commonly in Idaho, but in no other states except very rarely in Montana. It’s likely that nobody knows the full range of other species giant red paintbrush parasitizes, but a range of host plants have been described, including various sedges and grasses such as Roemer’s fescue, yarrow, Oregon sunshine, thimbleberry, and even some non-native weeds such as oxeye daisy, sheep sorrel, and possibly even Canada thistle. Rocky Mountain Paintbrush is one of the red Indian Paintbrushes, although it can occasionally be orange or even yellow. The bracts are showy and seem more petal-like, hairy, lobed in 3 to 5 parts, red to orange (rarely yellow) at the tip end and usually green at the base. Like other members of its genus, the root system of this plant plugs itself into the roots of various hosts, extracting nutrients that supplement its growth and energy needs. What makes the plant most remarkable is its parasitic dependence on other plants. And, while deer will take a bite out of red paintbrush it doesn’t appear to be a favorite. Based on appearances alone, it’s likely a hummingbird visited plant although we don’t actually see a huge amount of pollinator activity on it. ![]() While it isn’t actually “giant” as the name would suggest, it does grow to a little over two feet in height, with modest true flowers hidden within the bright scarlet leaf bracts. In natural settings giant paintbrush occurs in damps soils and full to partial sun, such as moist meadows, forest clearings, spring seeps, and streambanks. Despite its widespread distribution the handsome perennial is not very abundant except in relatively pristine natural areas where its’ remarkable root system can remain undisturbed. One of the most interesting meadow species we sell, with a fascinating ecology.Īlso known as Indian paintbrush, this remarkable red or orange-flowered plant is the most common member of its genus in the West, where it occurs from Alaska to California along the coast and inland to the Rocky Mountains. ![]()
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