It is not currently known what specific conditions are required for the Minnesota populations to survive. According to the DNR, it was first discovered here in 1891 near Grand Portage and not seen again until 1999, just a few miles from the original site it was listed as an Endangered species in 1996.Ĭastilleja species are hemiparasitic, meaning they obtain some nutrients from host plants, but also carry on photosynthesis so are not completely dependent on their hosts. It is an arctic and alpine species, more common in eastern Canada into New England, as well as in the Rocky Mountains in the west, found in meadows, peatlands, open forest, and floodplains. Northern Paintbrush is one of the rarest plants in Minnesota, only known from 2 or 3 locations along the rocky north shore of Lake Superior. Not all plants produce flowers.įruit is a capsule about ½ inch long containing 2 or more seeds. Stems are single or multiple from the base, 4-sided, branched or not, mostly hairless except near the flower spike, and mostly erect to ascending. Leaves are alternate, lance-linear, 1 to 4 inches long, toothless, stalkless and mostly hairless except for a minute fringe of hairs around the edge. Bracts and flowers are both covered in short glandular hairs, the bracts also with longer, non-glandular hairs. Each flower is wrapped in a broad bract that has 1 to 4 lobes or teeth and is pale yellow to greenish, lighter colored near the tip, sometimes tinged with purple. Flowers are tubular, pale yellow to greenish-yellow, about ¾ inch long, have a style that barely extends beyond the mouth of the tube and 4 somewhat shorter stamens. Nevada Indian tribes used the plant to treat sexually transmitted diseases and to enhance the immune system.Ĭastilleja linariifolia is the state flower of Wyoming, and will grow well in the Rockies of Colorado.A dense spike at the tip of the stem, initially compact but elongating with age up to about 4 inches, with open flowers at the tip and fruit forming below. The high selenium content of this plant has been cited as the reason for its effectiveness for these purposes. The Ojibwe Tribes used a hair wash made from Indian paintbrush to make their hair glossy and full bodied, and as a treatment for rheumatism. Indian paintbrush has similar health benefits to consuming garlic if only the flowers are eaten in small amounts and in moderation. Highly alkaline soils increase the selenium levels in the plants. These plants have a tendency to absorb and concentrate selenium in their tissues from the soils in which they grow, and can be potentially very toxic if the roots or green parts of the plant are consumed. The flowers of Indian paintbrush are edible, and were consumed in moderation by various Native American tribes as a condiment with other fresh greens. The generic name honors Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo. These plants are classified in the broomrape family. Indian paintbrush tolerates cold winters but it doesn’t perform well in the USDA zones 8 and above, which is interesting because I find them above 9,000’ and I can’t seem to grow them in Evergreen, at 7,600’, zones 3 & 4.Ĭastilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes, northern Asia, and one species as far west as the Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia. They are hemiparasitic on the roots of grasses and forbs. This is because Indian paintbrush sends roots out to the other plants, then penetrates the roots and “borrows” nutrients it needs in order to survive. This unpredictable wildflower grows when it is planted in close proximity with other plants, primarily grasses or native plants such as penstemon or blue-eyed grass. However, if conditions are right, Indian paintbrush reseeds itself every autumn. The plant is short-lived and dies after it sets seed. Indian paintbrush is a biennial plant that usually develops rosettes the first year and stalks of blooms in spring or early summer of the second year. About the Indian paintbrush, also known as Castilleja, Indian paintbrush wildflowers grow in forest clearings and grasslands across the Western and Southwestern United States. Growing this wildflower can add interest to the native garden. Indian paintbrush flowers are named for the clusters of spiky blooms that resemble paintbrushes dipped in bright red or orange-yellow paint.
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