Plant Name
Scientific Name: Castilleja arvensis
Common Name: Field Indian Paintbrush
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb, Hemiparasite
Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized wildflower is native to Mexico and Central and South America.
Flower Color: Red bracts
Height: To 32 inches (81 cm) tall
Description: The greenish flowers are in hairy, elongating flower spikes with red-tipped, petal-like bracts. The leaves are green, sessile, alternate, 3-veined, and linear-elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate in shape. The stems are erect, densely hairy, and usually unbranched. The plants are partial root parasites of nearby plants.
This is the only red-flowered Castilleja species found here in Hawaii.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family
Genus: Castilleja Mutis ex L. f. – Indian paintbrush
Species: Castilleja arvensis Cham. & Schltdl. – field Indian paintbrush
More About This Plant