Stem lengths range from a minute 1 centimeter to as much as 2 meters. In almost all species the leaves are attached to the stems and alternating. The inflorescences are always at the ends of the stems, which may or may not branch. The inflorescence usually have bracts that are brightly colored for the whole length or towards their ends.
The author Gregory L. Tilford claims that the flowers of Indian paintbrush are edible. However, these plants have a tendency to absorb and concentrate selenium in their tissues from the soils in which they grow, and can be potentially very toxic if the roots or green parts of the plant are consumed. Highly alkaline soils increase the selenium levels in the plants. In addition Castilleja species will take up alkaloids from other plants when parasitizing them.
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"Castilleja Mutis ex L.f." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 June 2024. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/325881-2
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"Castilleja Mutis ex L.f." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 June 2024. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/325881-2
Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (5 February 2024). "Castilleja - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 7 July 2024. http://floranorthamerica.org/Castilleja
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Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (5 February 2024). "Castilleja - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 7 July 2024. http://floranorthamerica.org/Castilleja
Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Jr., Steve L.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region : Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. pp. 688–690. Retrieved 7 July 2024. https://archive.org/details/mobot31753003888887/page/n705
Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (5 February 2024). "Castilleja - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 7 July 2024. http://floranorthamerica.org/Castilleja
Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (5 February 2024). "Castilleja - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 7 July 2024. http://floranorthamerica.org/Castilleja
Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Jr., Steve L.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region : Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. pp. 688–690. Retrieved 7 July 2024. https://archive.org/details/mobot31753003888887/page/n705
Egger, J. Mark; Zika, Peter F.; Wilson, Barbara L.; Brainerd, Richard E.; Otting, Nick (5 February 2024). "Castilleja - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 7 July 2024. http://floranorthamerica.org/Castilleja
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (14 January 2021). "Preference, performance, and chemical defense in an endangered butterfly using novel and ancestral host plants". Scientific Reports. 11 (992): 992. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11..992H. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-80413-y. PMC 7809109. PMID 33446768. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7809109
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (May 2018). "Hemiparasites can transmit indirect effects from their host plants to herbivores". Ecology. 99 (2): 399–410. Bibcode:2018Ecol...99..399H. doi:10.1002/ecy.2087. JSTOR 26624251. PMID 29131311. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26624251
Benda, Christopher. "Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)". www.fs.fed.us. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/Castilleja-coccinea.shtml
Schmidt, Natalie (2016). Parasitic plants and community composition: how Castilleja levisecta affects, and is affected by, its community (PDF) (Doctoral dissertation). University of Washington. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/research/theses/Natalie_Schmidt_Dissertation_2016.pdf
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (14 January 2021). "Preference, performance, and chemical defense in an endangered butterfly using novel and ancestral host plants". Scientific Reports. 11 (992): 992. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11..992H. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-80413-y. PMC 7809109. PMID 33446768. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7809109
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (May 2018). "Hemiparasites can transmit indirect effects from their host plants to herbivores". Ecology. 99 (2): 399–410. Bibcode:2018Ecol...99..399H. doi:10.1002/ecy.2087. JSTOR 26624251. PMID 29131311. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26624251
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (14 January 2021). "Preference, performance, and chemical defense in an endangered butterfly using novel and ancestral host plants". Scientific Reports. 11 (992): 992. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11..992H. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-80413-y. PMC 7809109. PMID 33446768. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7809109
Haan, Nate L.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Bowers, M. Deane (May 2018). "Hemiparasites can transmit indirect effects from their host plants to herbivores". Ecology. 99 (2): 399–410. Bibcode:2018Ecol...99..399H. doi:10.1002/ecy.2087. JSTOR 26624251. PMID 29131311. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26624251
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Strategy and Guidance for Minimizing Hybridization Risk of Castilleja levisecta (CALE) with Castilleja hispida (CAHI) While Advancing Conservation of CALE and Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori; TCB) (PDF) (Report). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Natural Resources. 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CALE-CAHI%20Hybridization_Strategy%20_Guidance_07July2021_updated.pdf
Loretta Fisher; Jonathan D. Bakker; Peter W. Dunwiddie (2015). An Assessment of Seed Production and Viability of Putative Castilleja levisecta × C. hispida Hybrids (Report). Center for Natural Lands Management and University of Washington. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.4327.2081. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265478592
Strategy and Guidance for Minimizing Hybridization Risk of Castilleja levisecta (CALE) with Castilleja hispida (CAHI) While Advancing Conservation of CALE and Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori; TCB) (PDF) (Report). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Natural Resources. 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-02. https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CALE-CAHI%20Hybridization_Strategy%20_Guidance_07July2021_updated.pdf
Tilford, Gregory L. (1997). Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West. Mountain Press Publishing. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-87842-359-0. 978-0-87842-359-0
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Wyoming Statute 8-3-104 (Title 8) Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine http://legisweb.state.wy.us/statutes/statutes.aspx?file=titles/Title8/Title8.htm