Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Castilleja minor is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name lesser Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to New Mexico, where it grows in moist habitats such as spring meadows. This is an annual herb growing a mostly unbranching slender stem to heights from 30 centimeters to well over a meter. The leaves are lance-shaped and several centimeters long. The top of the stem is occupied by an flower cluster of green leafs tipped with bright red and smaller, yellowish flowers. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

1 - 5 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Orange, Green, Yellow, Red

Sun

Full Sun

Site type

Wet places

Plant communities

Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 18 likely

Confirmed Likely

Adela flammeusella

Geranium Plume Moth

Amblyptilia pica

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica