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

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s 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: *Subspecies ''littoralis'' grows on the coastline of northern California and Oregon. *Subspecies ''neglecta'', known 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 An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. *Subspecies ''affinis'' is the most widespread subspecies.

External links

*
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Castilleja affinis''''Castilleja affinis'' — U.C. Photo gallery

affinis ''Species affinis'' (commonly abbreviated to: ''sp.'', ''aff.'', or ''affin.'') is taxonomic terminology in zoology and botany. In open nomenclature it indicates that available material or evidence suggests that the proposed species is related t ...

Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Orobanchaceae-stub