Castilleja schizotricha

Split-hair paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Split-hair paintbrush is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges of Siskiyou County on decomposed granite or marble habitats at elevations of 1,500 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces pink to dusty red bracts with white flowers, forming compact inflorescences 3 to 8 centimeters long. Growing with distinctively white-woolly stems 8 to 15 centimeters tall, the plant has a delicate, compact growth form. Its leaves are lance-linear, 5 to 20 millimeters long, with few or no lateral lobes, supporting slender branching stems. The flower's unique corolla is tomentose with a purple-red upper half and a distinctive beak 4 to 5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Decomposed granite or marble

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1500-2300 m

Bioregions: KR (Siskiyou Co.)

California counties: Siskiyou, Trinity

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