Castilleja applegatei subsp. pinetorum

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Applegate's paintbrush is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and northern Desert Mountains in open conifer forests and dry sagebrush scrub at elevations of 300 to 3,600 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces vibrant red to yellow-orange bracts surrounding small white flowers. Growing with robust stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clumps in alpine and montane habitats. Its leaves are typically without distinct lobes, with slender, narrow divisions that blend into the plant's overall delicate structure. The flowers feature an elongated calyx with lanceolate lobes and a prominent corolla beak 11 to 16 millimeters long.

Habitat: Open conifer forest, dry sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 300-3600 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, SN, GB, n DMtns

California counties: Humboldt, Tuolumne, Del Norte, Tulare, Modoc, Trinity, Mariposa, Siskiyou, Tehama, Mono, Fresno, El Dorado, Shasta, Lake, Plumas, Inyo, Ventura, Lassen, Placer, Butte, Solano, Glenn, Sierra, Nevada, Alpine, Kern, Yuba, Amador, Yolo, Calaveras, Madera, Mendocino, Napa, Colusa, San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.