Indian Paintbrush Castilleja miniata

Part One: The Objective Perception Exercise

1. The plant I am looking at is 2 feet tall, but others in the area range from 1 to 2 feet tall. The red or “paint brush” portion ranges from 1¼ to 3 inches. The hollow stem is purple/brown and flat sided with at least 8 sides. The stem branches halfway up into three stems, two with flowers. The leaves below the branches are long and narrow, up to 2¾ inches long with 3 veins running the length of the leaf. The leaf is folded on the middle vein. They spiral up the stem. After the stem branches, the leaves are smaller, about 1 inch long. The leaves on the branches are arranged in staggered groups of two, alternating orientation with the two above and below them. All leaf edges are tinged with purple/brown, the same color as the stem. The stem, leaf and bracts all have fine white hair, some with a tiny drop of liquid at the tip. Paintbrush is interesting, because the colorful “brush” is actually made up of a cluster of bracts. The flowers are the bright green arched tube that emerges from the bracts. A yellow/turning to purple style sticks out of the end of the tube. Depending on where the flower is located it arcs to the sky, sideways or toward the ground.

2. The stemless leaves are longer toward the bottom of the stalk (2 ¾”) and only 1” toward the top. The top leaves are also narrower. The bracts toward the top of the “brush” are mostly red, whereas the ones at the bottom are 50% green. The upper leaves have red edges, which turn to purple further down the stalk.

Different stages of growth: Seedlings usually don’t bloom in their first year. Instead their priority is growing roots and finding a neighbor to attach roots to, to supplement their water and nutrient uptake. Younger plants may only have one “brush,” whereas mature plants will often branch and have multiple “brushes”. The inflorescence starts out short, but elongates as time goes on. The dry seed capsule contains many small brown seeds, however, much of the seed does not get pollinated and is not viable.

3. The paintbrush I spent the most time with is growing at the base of a south facing hill in the dappled shade created by a grove of aspen and spruce trees. The soil is dry, silty mountain soil with gravel below providing drainage. Others grow happily in a lot more sun, on a south-facing hillside. Wild roses, harebells, clover, yarrow, aster, grass, strawberries, saskatoon and dandelions grow in close proximity. Something has been eating the bracts and it looks like also the seed. I noticed a caterpillar on a photo I took that I didn’t see when I was looking at the plant. I found a green bug on a different paintbrush species, but although I watched him for a while, I didn’t see him eating. Some of the flower heads have been bitten right off, perhaps by deer or elk that live in the area.

4. Relationship to the 4 Elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire “Earth is solidity, water is fluidity, air is expansiveness, and fire is transformation.” (Kaminsky & Katz) Fire is the predominant element. The bracts look like fire–their red/orange color, the shape of the “brush” and the top edge of the bracts look like tongues of fire. In some ways water and air are also represented. Paintbrush takes water and nutrients from other plants that it has attached its roots to and flows this water through its own structure where it is transformed into growth and energy. It activates the air around it with swirling, expansive energy. Which are lacking? Earth is the one that I don’t see.

5. Paintbrush is one of the longest blooming wildflowers, starting in June or July and continuing into September. It appears to start blooming at the bottom and moves upward. It seems to be a short lived perennial in the areas that I have enough history with to notice a difference from year to year. It goes dormant in the fall and by spring it is a stiff, hollow leafless stem standing beside the new growth. I know from growing paintbrush that they are a partial parasite and require another plant nearby to attach their roots to. I used to grow them in the same pot with June grass and had good success transplanting the pairs.

6. Sketch of plant. See above.

7. I can’t smell the flower at all. I have tasted numerous paintbrush flowers and bracts with flowers, from multiple locations and found it has a subtle taste. To my palate, it tastes like a mild radish, although my boyfriend tasted slight peppermint. To me the taste is not far off from lettuce and I never found a sweet one, although my reference books said it tastes sweet.

Part Two: The Imaginative Perception Exercise

1. The bright green flower is mostly hidden in the red bracts, creating a complementary color harmony that almost vibrates. This reversal of the expected color scheme where the bract is green and the flower is usually another color, starts to speak of creativity and other worldliness. Opposites both in color across the color wheel, (green and red are complementary colors) and the opposite of what one stereotypically thinks a flower should look like.

The whole is nicely tied together by the repetition of the purple/brown stem color into the edges of the leaves. Some lower bracts are green toward the middle and red around the edges, further creating harmonious color. When the bracts lean toward orange rather than red, the plants 3 colors, orange, green and purple form an evenly spaced triad of secondary colors on the color wheel.

2. The bracts look like a crowd of people with their arms raised in worship, joy or celebration. (OK maybe frogs, but the gesture is one of joy.) Expressing creativity is one of the best ways to increase the joy we feel on a daily basis, and paintbrush radiates joy.

At first I thought of the parasitic aspect of the paintbrush as a negative, but I am starting to see that it is giving so much, it needs the support of its plant community to have enough nutrients to make it’s contribution. The fact that the paintbrush is a partial parasite is an exceptional metaphor for creativity, and one that is critical now as politicians are trying to change laws in a way that would squelch creativity. With creativity already on the decline, at least in the US, this couldn’t come at a worse time. Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As artists have known throughout the ages, we all take what has come before us, add to it and make it our own. Even David Bowie said, “The only art I’ll ever study is stuff I can steal from.” It is important to understand this aspect of creativity, especially now, because if this legislation were passed, it would attempt to change the way artists have created since the beginning of time.

3. Overall gesture or form: Erect and ascending. The bracts energetically reach for the heavens in a gesture of joyful worship or dancing.

4. What colors or subtle energies surround the plant? Is there movement or patterns around the plant? The first time I felt anything was at the top of a mountain and it was windy. I felt a distinct swirling, pulsing energy moving in a spiral around and above the paintbrush. The second time was beside a logging road and I didn’t feel the same energy, so I made a makeshift pendulum with a rock and stalk of grass. The pendulum spun clockwise with great energy widely around the top of the plant. In contrast, it didn’t spin over either of 2 the small spruce trees and it went counter clockwise with less energy over Pearly Everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea. I tried to show the energies that I sensed in the paintbrush in the painting below.

5. What words is the plant speaking? I hope to discover more of this as I paint it, dream about it or sit with it again. While I was listening to Paintbrush on the mountaintop, the Douglas fir tree that was towering over the only flowering paintbrush I could find dropped a twig on me. I turned and felt its energy as well. I felt heat radiating off of Fir’s branches and a warm steady tingly energy. I felt that all the plants really appreciated me taking time to be still with them and try to hear what they were saying. I felt as one with the plants, although I didn’t hear any words. On my first visit, Paintbrush inspired me to take photos and look for creative ways to show it off. In fact I completely lost track of time taking photos and suddenly it was dark!

6. Qualities that Paintbrush seems to have: Vibrancy, pulsing energy, and ascendancy, connecting energy from the earth to the heavens.

Part Three: Literature Review

1. Botanical classification and comparison Traditional family: Figwort Scrophulariaceae (sensu lato) Current plant family classification: (Broomrape) Orobanchaceae

Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass Asteridae Order Scrophulariales Family Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family Genus Castilleja Mutis ex L. f. – Indian paintbrush Species Castilleja miniata Douglas ex Hook plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=cami12 Castilleja miniata Castilleja is named after Domingo Castillego an 18th century botanist. miniata comes from minium, the scarlet oxide of lead (Wildflowers of AB)

Related Flower Essence Plants: Other Broomrape (Orobanchaceae) that is a flower essence: • Elephant head Peducularis groenlanica Deep mystical forces of the soul; profound soul memory which imparts positive emotional insight and wisdom; connection with ancient sources of earth wisdom and soul history.

Other traditional classification Figwort (Scrophulariaceae) family plants that are flower essences that grow in Alberta: • Yellow monkey flower Mimulus guttatus Courage and confidence to face life’s challenges; radiant light that shines outward to the world. • Pink monkey flower Mimulus lewisii Emotional transparency; courage to take emotional risks with others. All Mimulus plants have a “grinning face like flower, Latin word mimulus means little actor” (Plants of Northern BC) “The range of essences from the Mimulus (Monkeyflower) genus are all variations on the theme of primal life forces and the soul’s struggle with fear or repression of them.” (Twelve Windows of Plant Perception, Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz)

“Thus we see that the colorful kaleidoscope of Monkeyflower essences addresses a wide spectrum of soul fears, giving us courage and strength to step boldly into life, confident we have the forces to meet any challenge.” Katz, Richard, Mimulus plant study.

• Common mullein Verbascum thapsus “Through Mullein the soul awakens to its inner voice and develops the capacity to listen and respond to its true Self. This remedy can be especially helpful when one must take a stand for personal authenticity, despite social pressure or confusing social mores.”

• Penstemon Penstemon davidsonii At it’s deepest level of transformation, Penstemon essence shows the soul that it has freely chosen even the harshest circumstances for its growth and evolution.

• Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus “Lively dynamic energy; healthy libido; verbal communication which is emotionally balanced.”

The figwort “flowers are horizontal, mouth-like with human/animal-like bilateral symmetry, and vibrant colors. These blossoms create an inner space, like human or animal organs, in which soul forces can be contained and experienced. Essences from the Scrophulariaceae family address intense emotions, such as fear or anger, which are registered within the deep recesses of the psyche and corresponding physical organs. Such emotions are colorfully described as “gut-level feelings,” and are often correlated with disturbances in the metabolic region of the body.” Katz, Richard, Mimulus plant study.

Other Figworts that are semi parasitic: owl clover, lousewort, and yellow rattle. Owl clover foliage was used to dye small skins and feathers a reddish tan color by the Blackfoot Indians. (Kananaskis Country)

Insights gained from this comparison: Owl clover, another semi-parasitic Figwort was traditionally used as a dye by Native people, so fostered creativity in a very practical way. Like owl clover and paintbrush, being semi parasitic is the way artists have created throughout time. Knowing this is one key to unlocking creativity. This principle applies to all areas of creativity, not just to artists.

The other related plants that are used as flower essences help the soul to know its true self, certainly a prerequisite for making good art and also ironically, an outcome of making things with your hands.

Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art. — Leonardo da Vinci

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” — Henry Ward Beecher

Paintbrush shares with monkey flower the ability to give courage and strength and with other figworts the ability to work with disturbances in the metabolic region of the body.

With Elephant head it shares deep connection to earth wisdom.

2. Herbal and medicinal qualities: Castilleja tend to accumulate selenium from the soil, so in areas where there is selenium, some people think it may be useful to supplement selenium. Where I live in Alberta, there is little selenium in the soil, but in Colorado where the selenium content of the soil is high there are some recorded cases of toxicity. (Edible and medicinal …Terry Willard 1992) This makes it problematic to determine a dose, and I suspect there are much more reliable ways to get selenium.

“Today it is seldom used as a food or medicine, but some herbalists believe that the selenium content of this plant may make it useful in treating various forms of cancer.” (Edible and Medicinal Plants 1997) Because of the variability of amounts of selenium in soil, the fact that the plant takes on secondary compounds from their hosts, and little of the seed is viable, making it difficult to grow commercially, I think that its herbal and medicinal uses are limited.

3. Biochemistry Paintbrush is interesting, because it takes on secondary compounds from its hosts, so its biochemistry can reflect that of its host. One study showed that although paintbrush plant tissue had alkaloids from the Lupinus argenteus host, the nectar did not. Thus pollinators were not affected, but herbivores were. (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305197800000909)

Plant-insect interactions “The iridoid content of the Castilleja species were all qualitatively similar. Major iridoids were aucubin, catalpol, penstemonoside and shanzhiside methyl ester, with traces of 8- epiloganin and gardoside methyl ester. Larvae of Platyptilia pica (Pterophoridae) hosted by Castilleja were found to excrete and not sequester iridoids. The adult moths contained rhexifoline alkaloid, but at a low concentration level. Systematic implications of the results for Castilleja are discussed.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0305197886900098 This looks interesting, but I am out of time and $31.50 is a deterrent!

4. History and Lore a) Blossoms were mixed with beardtongues, steeped in water and applied to centipede bites. (Wildflowers of AB) b) Carrier people parents forbade children to pick the paintbrush because it was considered sacred. (Plants of Northern BC) c) Chippewa Indians called it “Grandmothers Hair” and used it for woman’s diseases and rheumatism (might be due to the selenium content). (Terry Willard) d) The Menomimi used it as a love charm. (Terry Willard) e) Paintbrush was macerated in grease by Indians and used as a hair oil to invigorate the hair and make it glossy. (Terry Willard) “SELENIUM SULFIDE shampoo is used to treat dandruff, seborrhea and minor fungus infections of the scalp and skin.” www.answers.com/topic/selenium-sulfide-shampoo Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/selenium-sulfide-shampoo#ixzz23jOa3Toy f) Nevada Indians sometimes used dilute solutions of the root tea to treat venereal disease. (Edible and Medicinal plants) g) Various tribes used the flowering plant as a paintbrush. (Edible and Medicinal Plants)

It is often women that feel the need to develop their creative side and the plant was used for women’ diseases. One of the biggest “diseases” today is not feeling the joy and charge that comes from finding those unique connections that only you can find. In other words, expressing your creativity. In my experience, the vitality and transformation that comes with doing anything that stretches me creatively is one of the most invigorating experiences in life. When you make a creative discovery, it feels like it is a gift that came from outside of you, so you feel very connected to Source or God. Therefore the sacredness of the plant and the creative process do compare favorably to my observations and perceptions.

5. New Insights: Reviewing the plant descriptions in 12 reference books was frustrating until it became funny. The plant is extremely variable and complex so it is very hard to tell species apart. Thus, the plant descriptions are also variable and disagree on many points. It occurred to me how this is also a great metaphor for creativity! According to what I read, Castilleja miniata can be hairy or smooth, perennial, biennial or annual, leaves can be entire or have 3 shallow lobes, is variable in color, the seed capsule is divided into various numbers of compartments…

I am thrilled to discover that the clockwise direction that my makeshift pendulum traced is the same as the plant displays in its leaf arrangement and likely in the inflorescence as well. Paintbrush blooms from the bottom to the top, also reinforcing this ascending spiral that I felt and saw in the energy of the plant. The form follows its energy.

6. Twelve Windows 1. Form and Gesture: The plant is erect and ascending. The green flowers are tubular, more than bell shaped. The inflorescence is loose, almost shaggy so the flowers often point in all directions.

2. Orientation in Space: Paintbrush’s orientation in space is a vertical gesture, with the leaves spiraling clockwise up the stalk toward the inflorescence. It looks from my photos that the clockwise spiral continues into the inflorescence, but I will need to check that out in 3 dimensions. The clockwise spiral is a symbol that has many meanings, a few of which follow: The “clockwise spiral is said to be associated with power, independence, water and life in ascendancy. In Gaelic tradition, clockwise is seen as moving towards the sun and in harmony with the earth. Using the Spiral during meditation and healing practices is said to be useful for elevating awareness.” (www.montanadreams.net/symbology/symbols/spir_1.html) These meanings of the symbol align nicely with paintbrush flower essence.

3. Botanical Plant Family: See Part Three, number 1.

4. Orientation in Time: Summer-Autumn: Blooms over a very long period of time, providing food for the hummingbird and insects throughout the summer and into fall. This long bloom time also increases the odds that at least some seed will be pollinated by the insects and hummingbirds that feed on the nectar and at the same time spread pollen. I am curious if the viability of seed is higher in areas that have a lot of hummingbirds, so may collect some seed from two different areas to check this out. In the winter the plant goes dormant, resting until spring when buds form on the woody crown. Generally after a period of lively creativity, a rest is a great way to inspire more creativity. In fact, a period of rest, called Incubation is part of the Creative Process.

5. Relationship to the Environment: Paintbrush grows in open woods, lush meadows and fescue grasslands. It is semi-parasitic. Roots spread until they touch the roots of another plant, either another paintbrush or something else. They attach small suckers to the roots of this host and start taking nutrients, secondary compounds and water from it. We can see a parallel in the Creative Process. This collecting of raw materials is called Preparation. The more unrelated ideas and images that are accumulated, the more likely unique associations will be made and Illumination will strike–the coveted A-ha moment.

6. Relationship to the 4 Elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire “Earth is solidity, water is fluidity, air is expansiveness, and fire is transformation.” (Kaminsky & Katz) Bold my addition. Fire is the predominant element. The bracts look like fire–their red/orange color, the shape of the “brush” and the top edge of the bracts look like tongues of fire. In Chinese medicine, red is the color related to the fire element. The leaves move up the stem in a clockwise spiral and in Gaelic tradition, “clockwise is seen as moving towards the sun (fire) and in harmony with the earth.” www.montanadreams.net/symbology/symbols/spir_1.html What a great description of paintbrush! In subtle ways 2 other elements are present. Paintbrush takes water and nutrients from other plants that it has attached to and flows this water through its structure where it is transformed into growth and energy. It activates the air around it with swirling, expansive energy. Which are lacking? Earth is the one that I don’t see, other than in Chinese medicine, orange is the color associated with earth.

7. Relationship to the other Kingdoms of Nature Paintbrush is one of the handful of Rocky Mountain wildflowers that feeds hummingbirds. (Others are fireweed, bee plant, penstemons, hyssop, bergamot.) As I mentioned above, paintbrush blooms throughout the summer and into fall, so is a consistent source of nectar for hummingbirds and insects. This is a soul quality of paintbrush, it provides consistent grounded energy for exuberant creative expression.

The other interesting thing about paintbrush is that it takes alkaloids from Lupinus argenteus when that is its host and puts them into its tissues which protects it from grazing and allows it to produce as much at twice the seed as neighboring paintbrush plants that have different hosts. Yet again, a great parallel to creativity–the more ideas and images we feed on, the more creative insights we will have.

8. Color: Bright green flowers, with red, scarlet, orange, purple, and pink showy bracts. From a healing with color perspective, the colors of Indian paintbrush give us a lot of information about its soul qualities.

Flower color: Green “When we are in need of balancing our energies green is the perfect color. When one is feeling exhausted or feeling physical pain this is a color that will uplift and nourish the physical body. Green is associated with the heart chakra or the fourth chakra.”www.mariabowling.com/color.html Green is also grounding and balances our nervous system.

Red Bracts “The vibration of the color red is strength, vitality, courage and passion. It has the longest wavelength as well as the slowest vibration and lowest frequency. When one wears this color, confidence, courage and one’s personal passion are shared with the world. Red strengthens personal will. It is a great color to work with when one is feeling lethargic or experiencing a lack of appetite. Red supports us in the process of dipping deeper into our heart energy to find our true inner strength or courage. This color may support us when we are about to embark on a new journey.” www.mariabowling.com/color.html Red is the color of the root chakra and has to do with grounding. Red is also associated with the element fire.

Orange Bracts “Joy and wisdom are associated with orange. The color orange aids with the lifting of depression when one is feeling separate from the world and in need of personal contact. It also aids in removing emotional stagnation. Orange may revitalize our physical body by assisting us with digestion, specifically food assimilation. It aids in the healing of the spleen, stomach and pancreas. In Chinese medicine the element related to orange is the Earth element. This is the color in combination with yellow that grounds us into the earth energies and supports our process of digesting information nutritionally, physically and spiritually. It is a great color for removing negativity and for releasing old emotions. The use of orange is wonderful for relieving muscle pain and cramping especially menstrual cramping. Orange is associated with the sacral chakra or the second chakra.” www.mariabowling.com/color.html

Maria Bowling’s descriptions of the healing qualities of color are in perfect alignment with the way that Indian paintbrush shifts us at a soul level. It is grounding, which gives us the energy and vitality to express our creativity, it nourishes the physical body, which can be forgotten when one is caught up in the rush of creativity. The strength, vitality, courage and passion of red are also qualities of the flower essence. It strengthens personal will and revitalizes lethargy. The joy associated with orange is expressed in the gesture of the bracts, with their “arms” raised in celebration or worship. The wisdom she mentions, come from our connection to the earth. Stagnation is banished and manifestation grows organically out of our desire. It aligns our physical and spiritual energy and both our work and our soul are transformed.

9. Other Sense Perceptions: Paintbrush has no fragrance. What does that tell us? Some scientists think that paintbrush evolved with hummingbirds and therefore had no need to have a fragrance to attract pollinators because hummingbirds have no sense of smell and a poor sense of taste. Texture: soft hairs Taste: Mostly like green lettuce with a very slight radish flavor. I tasted many flowers from 5 different areas and didn’t ever taste the sweet nectar that the books all talked about. Perhaps only some flowers have nectar, or maybe the hummingbirds beat me to it!

10. Chemical Substances and Processes: Accumulates selenium Selenium “Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential to good health but required only in small amounts [1,2]. Selenium is incorporated into proteins to make selenoproteins, which are important antioxidant enzymes. The antioxidant properties of selenoproteins help prevent cellular damage from free radicals. Free radicals are natural by-products of oxygen metabolism that may contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease [2,3]. Other selenoproteins help regulate thyroid function and play a role in the immune system [4-7].” ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium- HealthProfessional/ This is why some people think paintbrush is useful in treating cancer.

“The chief commercial uses for selenium today are in glassmaking and in pigments. Selenium is a semiconductor and is used in photocells. Uses in electronics, once important, have been mostly supplanted by silicon semiconductor devices. Selenium continues to be used in a few types of DC power surge protectors and one type of fluorescent quantum dot.” (3) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium

I found it interesting that the major uses for selenium today are glassmaking and for pigments, both fields that support creativity. Also interesting is selenium’s use in surge protectors, devises that ground excess electrical energy. Once again we see alignment with the action of paintbrush flower essence.

11. Medicinal and Herbal Uses Paintbrush is not widely used medicinally or as an herb anymore.

12. Lore, Mythology, Folk Wisdom, Spiritual and Ritual Qualities Various tribes used the flowering plant as a paintbrush. (Edible and Medicinal Plants)

Carrier people parents forbade children to pick the paintbrush because it was considered sacred. (Plants of Northern BC)

The Menomimi used it as a love charm. (Terry Willard)

Story of the origin of Paintbrush from the book, Before the White Man Came, Mabel Burkholder (I found it in Terry Willard’s book) Once upon a time a Blackfoot maiden fell in love with a wounded prisoner she was attending. The maiden realized that the tribe was only nursing its captive in order to torture him later. She planned an escape of the prisoner, accompanying him for fear of the punishment for such a deed. After some time in her lover’s camp she grew homesick for a glimpse of her old camp. She finally went to the site of her old camp, hid in the nearby bushes, and overheard two young braves discussing what would happen to the maiden who betrayed them, if only they could find her. Knowing she could never return, but nonetheless longing to return, she took a piece of bark and drew a picture of the camp upon it with her own blood, gashing her leg and painting with a stick. After drawing the picture, the maiden threw the stick away and returned to her lover’s camp. Where the stick landed a little plant grew with a brush-like end dyed with the blood of this girl, which became the first Indian paintbrush.

Bibliography:

Kaminski, Patricia and Katz, Richard, Twelve Windows of Plant Perception, Flower Essence Repertory, Mimulus Plant Study

MacKinnon, Pojar, Coupe (Editors), Plants of Northern British Columbia, Lone Pine Publishing, 1992. (pg 187).

Tilford, Gregory, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, Montana, 1997. (pg 82).

Wilkinson, Kathleen, Wildflowers of Alberta, The University of Alberta Press and Lone Pine Publishing, 1999. (pg 212-213).

Willard, Terry, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Neighbouring Territories, Wild Rose College of Natural Healing Ltd. 1992. (pg 182-184).

Submitted by Cathie Campbell

September 17, 2012 Class: July, 2012 Professional Course Indian Paintbrush Castilleja miniata

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