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.