Castilleja indivisa, commonly known as Texas Indian paintbrush or entireleaf Indian paintbrush, is a hemiparasitic annual wildflower native to Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma in the United States. There are historical records of the species formerly growing in Arkansas, and reports of naturalized populations in Florida and Alabama.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
The bright red leaf-like bracts surrounding the white to greenish flowers make the plant look like a ragged brush dipped in red paint. They sometimes produce a light yellow or pure white variation mixed in with the reds.
Each plant typically grows up to in height. The leaves are long and stalkless. The roots grow until they reach the roots of other plants, mainly grasses, and then penetrate the roots of the "host" plant to obtain a portion of their needed nutrients (known as semi- or hemiparasitic).
Texas paintbrush typically blooms in the spring and summer. Some of its native habitats include prairies, meadows, pastures and roadsides.
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References
Texas A&M University Texas Paintbrush University of Texas, Images of Castilleja indivisa Wild Seed Farms, Growing Instructions for Texas Paint Brush
External links Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Republic of Texas in 1844