Texas Paintbrush

Castilleja indivisa

There are so many varieties of paintbrushes and bluebonnets, I was surprised to learn. Here's an interesting tidbit I copied from Enature.com:

"The roots of this plant will grow until they touch the roots of other plants, frequently grasses, penetrating these "host" roots to obtain a portion of their nutrients. Transplanting paintbrush may kill it."

According to legend, there was a young Native American artist who could paint beautiful paintings. He desires to paint a sunset and finds he doesn't have the necessary colors. One night in a dream he is told to go to the place where he watches the sun set. He does this and Lo and Behold, paintbrushes dabbed in the colors of the sunset were sticking up out of the ground all around him. He uses them to paint the most fabulous painting of his life. The next day the field was covered with beautiful flowers. The brushes had become plants which bloom every spring to this day!

Paintbrushes serve as a nectar source for the Buckeye butterfly.