Rosy Paintbrush (Castilleja rhexiifolia)

This is a plant that I taught about for the Native Plant Master Course on the Grand Mesa. It’s called Rosy Paintbrush, Castilleja rhexiifolia. The plant family is Orobanchaceae which are parasitic (no chlorophyll) or, like Castilleja, hemiparasitic (with some chlorophyll). The roots of these plants steal water, nutrients and sugars from other plants. If you plant one of the paintbrushes in your garden, you need to plant another species for it to parasitize, such as blue grama grass or sagebrush.

What you see as the colorful “flower” of the paintbrushes are not actually the flower at all – instead these are the bracts which are modified leaves found below the flower. The actual flowers are tiny green that sometimes peek out from between the bracts, like you can see at the right of the close-up photo. The bracts being so colorful attract pollinators such as hummingbirds. By producing colorful bracts, the plant saves energy compared to producing vivid petals – bracts are much hardier than petals and may last through the whole growing season.