Castilleja campestris

Vernal pool indian paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Vernal pool indian paintbrush is a California native annual found in vernal pool habitats at elevations of 10 to 30 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces yellow to reddish flowers with bracts 10 to 25 millimeters long in compact inflorescences 3 to 15 centimeters tall. Growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with an upright, nearly glabrous stem, it has a delicate and slender appearance. Its leaves are linear to lanceolate, 15 to 40 millimeters long, arranged alternately along the stem and remaining entirely entire. The flower's distinctive corolla reaches 15 to 25 millimeters long with a straight 5 to 6 millimeter beak and lower lip pouches 6 to 10 millimeters wide.

California counties: Merced, Yolo, Sacramento, Butte, Plumas, Sonoma, Lassen, Placer, Modoc, Solano

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