glaciernps:Indian PaintbrushHave you seen this flower on a trip in Glacier?The genus Castilleja, als
glaciernps:Indian PaintbrushHave you seen this flower on a trip in Glacier?The genus Castilleja, also known as Indian Paintbrush, represents a beautiful plant found many places in GNP and across the country. With over 200 different species of Castilleja in the United States, it can be very difficult to identify specific flowers due to very small differences and hybridization between species.While beautiful and seemingly harmless, this little flower is actually quite the bully underground. Being partially parasitic, Indian Paintbrush obtain water, nutrients, and carbohydrates from the roots of plants nearby. They have all the necessary components to produce food for themselves via photosynthesis, but not quite enough to sustain them.You may be thinking, “A parasitic plant? That must be invasive!” but Castilleja is a native to this landscape, and is being threatened by invasive species such as leafy spurge and spotted knapweed.To learn more about non-native and invasive species in Glacier, visit our webpage, here:https://go.nps.gov/nonnativeNPS Photo[Image description: Close-up of a flower with red leaves.] -- source link
#wildflowers#indian paintbrush