ROSE PAINTBRUSH 



Castilleja -pallida (Linnaeus) Kunth 



Crossing alpine meadows above tree line and on high passes in the 

 Canadian Rockies, one often finds the drier ground covered with masses 

 of rose paintbrush, growing in company with saxifrages and forget- 

 me-nots, wherever soil resulting from the disintegrating rock has been 

 deposited. The rose paintbrush varies from two to eight inches in 

 height, according to altitude and local conditions. The leafy bracts, 

 often mistaken for petals, range in color from greenish-white or pale 

 yellow to various shades of mulberry or dull pink. The actual flowers 

 have a dull-colored corolla, and are concealed between the bracts. The 

 plant belongs to the Figwort Family. 



Rose paintbrush grows from Alberta and British Columbia to 

 Alaska, and also in Siberia. 



The specimen sketched was obtained on the Clearwater River thirty 

 miles north of Lake Louise Station in British Columbia, at an altitude 

 of 8,000 feet. 



plate 48 



