Castilleja affinis

Castilleja affinis is a species of Castilleja known by the common name coast Indian paintbrush.

Coast Indian paintbrush
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Orobanchaceae
Genus:	Castilleja
Species:	C. affinis
Binomial name
Castilleja affinis Hook. & Arn.

It is native to western North America from Washington to Baja California, where it grows on hills and mountains slopes along the coast and inland.

Description

This is a perennial herb growing an erect stem up to about 60 centimeters (24 in.) in maximum height. It is greenish to purple in color and may be hairless to quite hairy. The leaves are variable in shape and up to 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a series of bracts in shades of bright red to yellowish. Flowers appearing between the bracts are a bit longer and covered in hairs. They are green to purple lined with red or yellow. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies of this plant, two of which are rare:

Image	Subspecies	Distribution
	C. a. var. affinis	California to Mexico (Baja California Norte)
	C. a. var. contentiosa (J.F.Macbr.) Bacig.	California (southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara)
	C. a. var. neglecta (Zeile) J.M.Egger	commonly as the Tiburon paintbrush, is known from only a few occurrences in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a federally listed endangered species.

External links

• Media related to Castilleja affinis at Wikimedia Commons
• Jepson Manual Treatment: Castilleja affinis
• Castilleja affinis — U.C. Photo gallery