Castilleja mendocinensis

Mendocino coast paintbrush, Mendocino Coast Paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Mendocino coast paintbrush is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in central North Coast region of Mendocino County in coastal scrub at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces bright red to orange-red flowers on bracts 15 to 20 millimeters long with widely wedge-shaped profiles. Growing 40 to 60 centimeters tall with a decumbent to ascending form, it develops much-branched stems that are gray-green and shaggy-bristly. Its leaves are 5 to 20 millimeters long, somewhat fleshy, and range from oblong to rounded with zero to three truncate-rounded lobes. The plant's distinctive coral-colored bracts and shaggy-textured growth make it a striking component of coastal Mendocino County's scrubland ecosystem.

Habitat: Coastal scrub

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: c NCo (Mendocino Co.).

California counties: Mendocino, Alameda, Humboldt, Marin

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