Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Castilleja

There are, according to Intermountain Flora, about 200 species of Castilleja (Paintbrush); most grow in western North America, several in eastern North America and Asia, and about fifteen in Central and South America.

Castilleja comes in many colors and often these colors represent distinct species. But Paintbrush hybridizes often and therefore precise species identification on the basis of color can be difficult.

The attractive "flowers" that we admire, are actually leaf-like parts, the bracts and sepals. The flower petals themselves are fused in a long, narrow tube that is often greenish-yellow and tipped in the same color as the showy bracts and sepals. The reproductive parts (visible in several pictures below) protrude from the tube.

Some species of Paintbrush grow singly, others scattered, others in large, very attractive patches, and others in all three manners.

Paintbrush is hemiparasitic (partially parasitic), i.e., if Paintbrush roots encounter roots of other plants they will penetrate these roots for nourishment. This at least partially explains why several species of Castilleja, especially Castilleja chromosa, commonly begin growing under taller plants such as Sagebrush. Perhaps they also profit from the shade.

Paintbrush of the same species may consistently or inconsistently have hairy or smooth, sticky or not sticky stems; lower leaves may be noticeably red and three-veined or not; bracts may, on their outside top edges, be deeply or shallowly cut into narrow or wider division or not cut at all. As Intermountain Flora states it: "The species of Castilleja are often difficult to distinguish because of overlapping variation in nearly every character."

Despite these identification difficulties, one can, with patience and practice, learn the various Castilleja species pictured on this web site. With little effort at all, one quickly learns to appreciate their beauty.

The genus name, "Castilleja", honors Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), Spanish botanist and Professor of Botany in Cadiz, Spain. In the late 1770s Jose Celestino Mutis (who was born in Cadiz, Spain but spent most of his life in Columbia) named a new Columbian genus "Castilleja" to honor his countryman. He sent the new species and name to Linnaeus' son who published the information in Supplementum Plantarum in 1781. (More biographical information about Castillejo.)

Castilleja miniata (Paintbrush)
Scrophulariaceae (Snapdragon Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows. Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 14, 2006.

This is what most of us think of when we think "Paintbrush": Red. But as the pictures below indicate, this very common species of Paintbrush can also appear in shades of pink/salmon/orange. Castilleja miniata grows from lower elevations through the subalpine and is very common in mountain woods. It is, according to Intermountain Flora, the second most widely distributed Castilleja in the world.

It is usually unbranched and the upper colored bracts are often (but not always) deeply cut into three, with the middle section considerably wider than the outer two. C. miniata blooms through June and July and by mid-August its color is often faded and seeds swollen.

"Miniata" is Latin for "colored red". Castilleja miniata was first collected by David Douglas in what is now Eastern Oregon/Washington in the early 1830's and was described by William Jackson Hooker in his Flora Boreali-Americana in 1838.

Castilleja miniata (Paintbrush)
Scrophulariaceae (Snapdragon Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows. Summer.
Lower Stoner Mesa Trail, June 23, 2005.

The gorgeous hot red/pink garners our attention, but the flowers are actually small green tubes. As Castilleja plants age, the colored bracts spread upward and the flowers elongate and become more visible.

Castilleja miniata

Castilleja miniata (Paintbrush)
Scrophulariaceae (Snapdragon Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows. Summer.
Roaring Fork Road, July 26, 2004.
Navajo Lake Trail, July 6, 2004.
Navajo Lake Trail, July 6, 2004.

Castilleja miniata is typically bright red but it is not unusual to find an assortment of other colors. Castilleja minata does hybridize with Castilleja rhexifolia and hybridization may account for some of the variety shown in the plants at left.

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Castilleja miniata