Golden Indian paintbrush

Description:

A rare flower with only eleven known populations ( Nine are in Washington state). Considered threatened in United States. The plant is about 1.0 ft (30 cm) tall and covered with soft sticky hairs. Golden yellow on top and giving way to green lower to the ground.

Habitat:

Spotted at the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve - a unique and one of the few prairie habitats left in Washington state. The species grows in prairie habitats at low elevations and in soils that are gravely (soils derived from glacier origins) in Washington and Oregon, though it has been possibly extirpated in Oregon. Also it seems to thrive in prairies that have had fires. I did find plenty of charred wood nearby, which can be seen in the pictures as well.

Notes:

Golden paintbrush is short-lived and individual plants generally do not survive longer than 5-to-6 years. This species apparently reproduces exclusively by seed; vegetative spread has never been observed or reported. Plants may flower as early as February, and flowers are observed into summer. The fruit is a capsule, which matures in August; by mid-summer, the plants senesce, although some plants produce shoots in the fall that overwinter. Capsules persist on the plants well into winter. Although seed dispersal has not been directly observed, the seeds are probably shaken from the seed capsules and fall a short distance from the parent plant. The seeds are light and could possibly be dispersed short distances by the wind.