This species is widely distributed, ranging from British Columbia to Wyo- 

 ming, New Mexico, and California, and south into Mexico. It is one of the 

 more common species of Castilleja, although generally not abundant. It occurs 

 chiefly on dry or moderately dry soils, and often in rocky places, mostly in 

 sagebrush, aspen, and open-pine types. 



Wyoming paintbrush is one of the more palatable species of Castilleja but 

 its value varies in different localities. It rates as fairly good cattle forage 

 and good sheep forage in Colorado and Wyoming ; poor for cattle and fair for 

 sheep over the remainder of the range country except the Southwest where, 

 in general, it is practically worthless for cattle and poor for sheep. How- 

 ever, in certain sections of the Southwest, especially on the Kaibab Forest in 

 northern Arizona, it is rated as fair cattle forage and good sheep forage and 

 also as good deer forage. 



Wyoming paintbrush is variable, the bracts of the flower clusters being red, 

 rose, or crimson, usually three-lobed and three-nerved. The corolla is greenish 

 yellow tinged with scarlet, and is very unequally two-lipped, the upper lobe, 

 or galea being prolonged and enclosing the four stamens which are arranged 

 in two pairs of unequal length. The two pollen sacs (anthers) of each stamen 

 are unequal, the outer one attached to its stalk (filament) by its middle, the 

 other hanging from its attached upper end. The dark green leaves are narrow 

 and entire or dissected into narrow lobes and vary from nearly hairless to 

 somewhat woolly-hairy. The stems are usually tufted and either branched or 

 unbranched. 



PAINTBRUSHES AND PAINTED-CUPS (Castille'ja spp.) 



Castilleja is a member of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Many 

 genera of this family include species with striking flowers ; the widely culti- 

 vated snapdragons (Antirrhinum spp.) probably being the most familiar. The 

 paintbrushes compose a fairly large, chiefly western North American genus of 

 about 50 species of annual or perennial herbs, most of which are partially 

 parasitic on the roots of other plants. The genus was named in 1781 by Dr. 

 Jose Celestino Mutis (1732-1808), an eminent Spanish-Colombian physician 

 and botanist, who came to America in 1760 and founded the botanical garden 

 at Bogota, where he died. Mutis collected the type species of Castilleja, in 

 New Granada (now Colombia), naming the genus in honor of his now rather 

 obscure botanical contemporary, Domingo Castillejo, of Cadiz. Many botanists 

 prefer to spell the generic name Castilleia, that form being more in accord 

 with classic Latin traditions. Species of Castilleja, especially the reddish hued 

 ones, are generally known as paintbrush or Indian paintbrush in the West, 

 although the preferred book name seems to be painted-cup. The paintbrushes 

 and painted-cups, although common, are never particularly abundant, always 

 grow in association with other species, and compose but a small part of the 

 plant cover. They occur from the lower elevations to above timberline in a 

 wide variety of vegetative types. 



This genus varies considerably in palatability. Some species are practically 

 worthless as forage plants and are not grazed by either domestic livestock or 

 game animals. Other species are fairly good cattle forage and good forage for 

 sheep, deer, and elk, at least in certain regions. Insufficient information is 

 available regarding the palatability of the individual species of this genus and, 

 accordingly, direct observation will be necessary to determine the actual value 

 of the plants in any given locality. In general, however, the castillejas are not 

 abundant and are of secondary importance as range plants. 



Paintbrushes and painted-cups are distinctive in that the flowers appear in 

 terminal leafy spikes, being borne in the axils of usually large, brightly colored 

 bracts, which are generally more conspicuous and showy than the flowers. In 

 this particular, the paintbrushes resemble the closely related owlclover genus, 

 Orthocarpus. The bracts are entire or 4- to 5-cleft, and are colored various 

 shades of yellow, pink, red, or purple, or are green with the tips and margins 

 of those colors. The outer flower parts (sepals) are united to form a narrowly 

 cylindrical calyx, which is usually of the same color as the bracts in that 

 particular species. The corollas are strongly 2-lipped with the upper lip much 

 prolonged, enclosing the 4 stamens. The leaves are alternate, stalkless, entire 

 or toothed, or divided into narrow lobes. The stems are usually somewhat 

 tufted and either branched or unbranched. 



