Downy Indian Paintbrush
Castilleja purpureaDowny Indian Paintbrush is a shrub native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 0.5–1.5 ft tall and 1 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water, and handles caliche soil. Blooms red, pink, orange, yellow and purple in Apr–Jun. Good for hummingbirds.
Will it grow in your yard?
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The facts
4 sources- Type
- Shrub
- Sun
- Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 0.5–1.5 ft
- Spread
- 1 ft
- Bloom
- Apr–Jun · red, pink, orange, yellow, purple
- Foliage
- Deciduous or dies back in winter
- Soil
- Takes caliche · recorded on calcareous, dry, gravelly, sand, well drained
- Wildlife
- Supports hummingbirds
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
60 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.
also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.