Castilleja minor

Lesser indian paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Lesser indian paintbrush is a California native annual found in open grasslands and meadows, typically at moderate elevations. Flowering from May to July, this delicate plant produces yellow and pale red-tipped flowers with distinctive bracts that have long, tapered red tips. Growing 30 to 150 centimeters tall with a slender, mostly simple green stem that is variously hairy, it has an elegant, upright form. Its leaves are lance-linear, reaching 40 to 100 millimeters long and remaining entirely whole, providing a clean, streamlined appearance. The plant produces small fruits 10 to 15 millimeters long with intricate, ladder-like seed coatings that highlight its subtle botanical complexity.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, San Diego, Riverside, Sierra, Monterey, Mariposa, Ventura

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