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Species Details
Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium Read more about this collection »
LeavesAlternate, sessile, simple, linear to lance-shaped, 2-5 cm long, margins entire to three-lobed, three-nerved, appressed-rough-hairy to nearly smooth
FlowersInflorescence a terminal spike, 20-25 sessile flowers, bracted; bracts bright red or scarlet to orange, occasionally crimson or rarely yellow, lance-shaped, three-lobed, conceal most of flower, hairy, sticky; flowers bilaterally symmetrical; sepals 4 lobed, fused to appear 2-lobed, lobes 2-toothed, form tubular structure, 1.5-3.0 cm long, top half pink to red, lower half green, hairy; petals 5, 2-3.5 cm long, greenish, fused into 2 lips, upper lip hairy, arched, lower lip 3-toothed, short, thick; stamens 4, in pairs, enclosed by the upper lip of the corolla; pistils 1, style slender, exserted, ovary superior
Fruits and SeedsCapsule, 2 valves, oblong, 9-12 mm long, 33-80 seeds; seed-coats loose, net-veined; seeds winged, short beaks, 1-2 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide
Scientific Name
Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
Common Name
giant red paintbrush
General Description
Perennial herb; stems simple or sometimes branched, 20-80 cm tall, somewhat woody, clustered or solitary on rhizomes, smooth below, hairy above especially in the inflorescence
Leaves
Alternate, sessile, simple, linear to lance-shaped, 2-5 cm long, margins entire to three-lobed, three-nerved, appressed-rough-hairy to nearly smooth
Flowers
Inflorescence a terminal spike, 20-25 sessile flowers, bracted; bracts bright red or scarlet to orange, occasionally crimson or rarely yellow, lance-shaped, three-lobed, conceal most of flower, hairy, sticky; flowers…
Inflorescence a terminal spike, 20-25 sessile flowers, bracted; bracts bright red or scarlet to orange, occasionally crimson or rarely yellow, lance-shaped, three-lobed, conceal most of flower, hairy, sticky; flowers bilaterally symmetrical; sepals 4 lobed, fused to appear 2-lobed, lobes 2-toothed, form tubular structure, 1.5-3.0 cm long, top half pink to red, lower half green, hairy; petals 5, 2-3.5 cm long, greenish, fused into 2 lips, upper lip hairy, arched, lower lip 3-toothed, short, thick; stamens 4, in pairs, enclosed by the upper lip of the corolla; pistils 1, style slender, exserted, ovary superior
Fruits and Seeds
Capsule, 2 valves, oblong, 9-12 mm long, 33-80 seeds; seed-coats loose, net-veined; seeds winged, short beaks, 1-2 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide
Phenology
Flowers between June and August
Notes
Similar species:
Castilleja rhexifolia
C. rhexifolia is often confused with C. miniata. C. rhexifolia, commonly known as Rosy Paintbrush because it also resembles a paintbrush, is not scarlet and red colored like C.…
Similar species:
Castilleja rhexifolia
C. rhexifolia is often confused with C. miniata. C. rhexifolia, commonly known as Rosy Paintbrush because it also resembles a paintbrush, is not scarlet and red colored like C. miniata.
Unique adaptations:
This species is a hemiparasite, meaning that resources such as water, nutrients, or chemical compounds are stolen from other plants, but photosynthesis is still performed by the plant to make energy.
It is the brightly colored bracts that gives C. miniata its common name because the inflorescence looks as if it were dipped in red paint.
Range/Distribution
Alberta: Concentrated mainly along the foothills and Rocky Mountains, radiating slightly North and East, making it well distributed throughout Central Alberta
CAN (BC, MB, ON, SK, YT); USA (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND,…
Alberta: Concentrated mainly along the foothills and Rocky Mountains, radiating slightly North and East, making it well distributed throughout Central Alberta
CAN (BC, MB, ON, SK, YT); USA (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
Citation
Page Citation for Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
Page Citation
"Species Details - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook., University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search-test.museums.ualberta.ca/g/1-3082/12-232420. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Specimen Information
There are 100 specimens of this Species.
25995 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Bragg Creek
Date Collected1958-07-17
24236 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Jasper National Park, Jasper
Date Collected1938-07-17
75766 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Jasper National Park, Hardisty Creek
Date Collected1949-08-06
75767 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Jasper National Park, Hardisty Creek
Date Collected1949-08-06
75768 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Jasper National Park, Mount Edith Cavell
Date Collected1959-08-02
108294 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Burmis
Date Collected1982-08-13
24328 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Carbondale River
Date Collected1944-07-13
46495 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Nicholls Creek
Date Collected1945-07-05
73679 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Fort Macleod
Date Collected1952-07-02
108293 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Racehorse Creek
Date Collected1982-08-18
46496 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Graburn Creek
Date Collected1945-08-04
109296 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Fox Creek
Date Collected1984-07-08
40210 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, South Wabasca Lake
Date Collected1968-07-10
38931 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Crimson Lake
Date Collected1968-06-29
23761 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Wandering River
Date Collected1967-06-25
42239 - Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook.
University of Alberta Vascular Plant Herbarium
Common Namegiant red paintbrush
Place CollectedNorth America: Canada, Alberta, Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area, Touchwood Lake
Date Collected1968-07-24