Rare and known only from a few locations in southwestern Missouri, it may not occur in our state anymore. However, if conditions are right, Indian paintbrush reseeds itself every autumn. The plant is short-lived and dies after it sets seed. Host plants include various native prairie grasses, such as hairy grama and June grass, as well as other wildflowers. Indian paintbrush is a biennial plant that usually develops rosettes the first year and stalks of blooms in spring or early summer of the second year. purpurea) has purple bracts instead of red and has clustered flowering stems. Indian Paintbrush is partially parasitic.
It's found only in our far northwestern counties. sessiliflora) lacks the 'paint,' with only green bracts surrounding the flowers its flowers protrude noticeably beyond the bracts. Similar species: There are two other species of Castilleja in Missouri, both Species of Conservation Concern.
Stem leaves alternate, stalkless, narrow to linear to 3-lobed with the central lobe wider and longer than the other 2. Basal leaves formed during first year, short, oblong, with rounded ends. The actual flowers are inconspicuous, tubular, greenish-yellow, and nestled in the axils of the brilliantly colored bracts, which can be red, orange, or yellow. Indian paintbrush has hairy, upright stems with flowers clustered at the top. 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.