The photos were taken on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern California in Channel Islands National Park in October. It looks to me like Monterey Coast paintbrush (Castilleja latifolia), but that's supposed to only be found 175 miles away between Point Reyes and Big Sur and it isn't on the NPS list.
Here are the types of paintbrush on the NPS plant checklist, but I don't think any of them are orange:
- Red paintbrush (Castilleja affinis)
- Narrow-leaved owl’s clover (Castilleja attenuate)
- Owl’s clover (Castilleja densiflora)
- Purple owl’s clover (Castilleja exserta)
- Island paintbrush (Castilleja hololeuca)
- Soft-leaved paintbrush (Castilleja mollis)
Thanks for any assistance.
by SeaMossMonster
3 Comments
Incredible photography. You can even see the individual trichomes on the calyx.
Try asking on r/ceanothus if you don’t get an answer here. It’s focused on California native plants. Castillejas are amazing but can be tricky to ID
Gorgeous.