Connecticut Plants
Painted Cup (Indian Paintbrush)
Castilleja coccinea
Painted cup is an annual or biennial that is parasitic on the roots of other plants. Painted cup is a threatened species in Connecticut.
- Family: broomrape (Orobanchaceae)
- Habitat: meadows and prairies with moist sandy soil
- Height: 1-2 feet
- Flower size: actual flowers are small; the cluster of showy red bracts is around 1-1/2 inches across
- Flower color: actual flowers yellow-green, surrounded by red bracts
- Flowering time: May to July
- Origin: native
The red-orange things that look like petals are bracts; the actual flowers are the pointed yellow-green structures emerging from the bracts.
Painted cup is rare in Connecticut, but it more common to the north and west. This is a roadside population in Ontario.