Castilleja subinclusa Greene var. franciscana (Pennell) G.L. Nesom
Castilleja subinclusa Greene ssp. franciscana (Pennell) T.I. Chuang & Heckard
Longleaf Indian paintbrush
This variety of longleaf Indian paintbrush is native to the California coast, and named for San Francisco. If you’re interested in Castillejas, don’t miss Mark Egger’s superb photographic compilation on Flickr. They appear from April to October. See also this Castilleja comparison table.
Plants: 12–47″ (30–120 cm) tall, grayish-green, becoming purplish with age.
Leaves: 1–3″ (3–8 cm) long, more or less lanceolate (lance-shaped), unlobed or lobed.
Flowers: Flowerheads are 2–16″ (6–40 cm) in size, bright red to orange-red or yellow, appearing from March to May. The colored portions are really modified leaves (bracts). The flowers are ¾–1¼″ (2–3.2 cm) long, yellow-green, cigar-shaped, and often much more prominent than those on other Castillejas.
Fruits: ⅜–½″ (1–1.5 cm) in size, with 1/16″ (2 mm) seeds.
Habitats: Found at low elevations near the coast
Online References:
Castilleja franciscana Pennell
Castilleja subinclusa Greene var. franciscana (Pennell) G.L. Nesom
Castilleja subinclusa Greene var. franciscana (Pennell) G.L. Nesom
Found near the Golden Gate bridge. · 6/12/2007 · Sausalito, California 
Found near the Golden Gate bridge. · 6/12/2007 · Sausalito, California 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Orobanchaceae | Broomrape family of parasitic plants |
| Genus | Castilleja | Named for Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo |
| Species | subinclusa | From sub-, “almost, approaching,” and inclusa, from Latin inclusus, “confined, shut up, included,” therefore meaning “almost included,” and referring to the anthers which in this species are almost included within the corolla |
| ssp. | franciscana | Of or from San Francisco |
Castilleja subinclusa ssp. franciscana description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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