Biology:Castilleja indivisa

Castilleja indivisa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Orobanchaceae
Genus:	Castilleja
Species:	C. indivisa
Binomial name
	Castilleja indivisa; Engelm. 1845

Short description: Species of flowering plant

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 . There are historical records of the species formerly growing in Arkansas, and reports of naturalized populations in Florida and Alabama.^[2]

The bright red leaf-like bracts surrounding the white to greenish flowers make the plant look like a ragged brush dipped in red paint. They sometimes produce a light yellow or pure white variation mixed in with the reds.

Each plant typically grows up to 18 in (46 cm) in height.^[3] The leaves are long and stalkless. The roots grow until they reach the roots of other plants, mainly grasses, and then penetrate the roots of the "host" plant to obtain a portion of their needed nutrients (known as semi- or hemiparasitic).

Texas paintbrush typically blooms in the spring and summer. Some of its native habitats include prairies, meadows, pastures and roadsides.^[3]