Castilleja (Prairie Fire)

Castilleja is a member of the Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family).   It is found in “wet to dry meadows, grassy slopes, fens, shrub-carrs, tidal marshes, clearings, roadsides, thickets and open forests from the lowland to subalpine zones; common throughout BC south of 57degreeN, infrequent northward and rare on the Queen Charlotte Islands; N to SE AK, E to W ON and S to ND, NM, AZ and CA” (E-Flora BC).  Blooming in spring and early summer, it has 30-50 cm stems with orange-red bracts that look like flowers.  The actual flowers are greenish-yellow and mostly hidden by the showy bracts.  It has “two types of medium green leaves: entire, lance-shaped leaves in a basal rosette and stem leaves divided into 3-5 deep, narrow lobes.”  Its Latin genus name honours a Spanish botanist, Domingo Castillejo, who lived in the 18th century (MBG).  Other names include Indian paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush, common red paintbrush.