Castilleja cinerea

Ash-gray paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Threatened

Ash-gray paintbrush is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the San Bernardino Mountains in dry sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,800 to 3,300 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces flowers with dusty red, purple, or green-yellow bracts in dense clusters 3 to 6 centimeters long. Growing with ascending to erect stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, densely covered in ashy-gray pubescence, it has a delicate, compact form. Its lance-linear leaves extend 10 to 20 centimeters, typically without lobes, with a sparse, elegant structure. The flower's pale yellow corolla is partially hidden within dense, branched-hairy calyces, creating an intricate botanical display.

Habitat: Dry sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1800-3300 m

Bioregions: SnBr.

California counties: San Bernardino

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