FWS Focus

Overview

Characteristics
Overview

Golden paintbrush adds splashes of bright yellow to the prairies of the Pacific Northwest when it flowers in late spring. This vibrant perennial plant is native to the prairies of Washington State, Oregon and southern British Columbia. As those prairie ecosystems were dramatically fractured and reduced in size by development, agriculture and fire suppression, golden paintbrush too became increasingly rare. However, a suite of public and private partners have worked hard to help populations rebound in recent years. At the time the species was federally-listed as threatened in 1997, fewer than 20,000 plants remained at just 10 sites. By 2018, hundreds of thousands of plants could be found at 48 sites.

Scientific Name

Castilleja levisecta
Common Name
golden paintbrush
golden Indian paintbrush
FWS Category
Flowering Plants
Kingdom

Location in Taxonomic Tree

Identification Numbers

TSN:

Characteristics

Characteristic category

Habitat

Characteristics
Habitat

Golden paintbrush lives in a legacy of the ice age in the Pacific Northwest. Prairies in the region were created at the end of the last ice age, when glaciers receded and left large swaths of cleared land in their wake. These fertile landscapes, supplemented by glacial till, became a hot bed of ecological activity as dozens of species of insects, plants, mammals and reptiles migrated to open grasslands. Golden paintbrush can now be found in these open grasslands on glacial outwash prairies in the Puget Trough lowlands of Washington State and British Columbia, and on alluvial soils in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. In upland prairies of Washington, the species can also be found on unique mounded prairies known as mima mounds.

The species does not tolerate shade from nearby trees, shrubs or even tall non-native grasses, therefore considerable management or disturbance from wildlife is necessary for its continued propagation. Golden paintbrush does best on sites that are frequently treated using prescribed fire; a three to five-year fire frequency appears to keep the species robust and may facilitate natural reproduction if bare soil is available or created at the time of prescribed fire and at the time of seed release. Long-term management of habitat for golden paintbrush will require close monitoring to sustain existing populations of the species.

Grassland

Land on which the natural dominant plant forms are grasses and forbs.

Characteristic category

Life Cycle

Characteristics
Life Cycle

Though it generally flowers from April to late June, golden paintbrush may flower as early as February. It is a short-lived perennial, with individual plants living for 5 to 7 years. The basal, vegetative material can be observed most of the year, making it a prime choice for Taylorโ€™s checkerspot butterflies to feed upon when they emerge mid-winter. Golden paintbrush reproduces exclusively by seed. The fruit is a capsule, which matures in July or August. Seed is collected when the seed capsules mature and many plants reduce to their basal leaves. Some capsules may persist on the plants over the winter, but usually the seeds have dispersed by wind during the late summer or fall. Most seeds from golden paintbrush fall a short distance from the parent plant. The seeds are miniscule; they are light and could possibly be dispersed short distances by the wind, rainfall or carried by animals to other locations.

Characteristic category

Physical Characteristics

Characteristics
Size & Shape

Plants grow up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall and are covered with soft, somewhat sticky hairs. The showy bracts are bright golden yellow. The lower leaves are linear and lance-like, the upper leaves are broader with one to three pairs of short lateral lobes near the leaf tip.

Geography

Characteristics
Range

Historically, golden paintbrush has been reported at several dozen sites in the Puget Trough of Washington and British Columbia and as far south as the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Many populations have been extirpated due to residential and commercial development, as well as  agriculture. Recent recovery efforts have helped reestablish the species across its historical range.

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Timeline

Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.

17 Items

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Five Year Review

Recovery Plan

Correction

Recovery Plan

Recovery Plan

Five Year Review

Delisting

Notice

Delisting

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Listing

Dec 15, 1980

Dec 15, 1980 Listing
Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 1

Listing

Nov 28, 1983

Nov 28, 1983 Listing
Supplement to Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as End. or Thr. Species; 48 FR 53640-53670
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 2

Listing

Sep 27, 1985

Sep 27, 1985 Listing
Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as End. or Thr. Species; Notice of Review; 50 FR 39526-39584
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 3

Listing

Feb 21, 1990

Feb 21, 1990 Listing
ETWP; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species; Notice of Review; 55 FRโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 4

Listing

Sep 30, 1993

Sep 30, 1993 Listing
ETWP; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 5

Listing

May 10, 1994

May 10, 1994 Listing (Threatened)
ETWP; Proposed Threatened Status for Castilleja Levisecta (Golden Paintbrush)
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 6

Listing

Feb 28, 1996

Feb 28, 1996 Listing
ETWP; Review of Plant and Animal Taxa That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Sโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 7

Listing

Jun 11, 1997

Jun 11, 1997 Listing (Threatened)
ETWP; Determination of Threatened Status for Castilleja levisecta (Golden Paintbrush)
  • Publication type: Final
Item 8

Five Year Review

Jul 6, 2005

Jul 6, 2005 Five Year Review (Information Solicitation)
Initiation of 5-Year Reviews of the Mariana Fruit Bat (Pteropus mariannus mariannus), Mariana Crow (โ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 9

Recovery Plan

Sep 22, 2008

Sep 22, 2008 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Draft Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 10

Correction

Oct 8, 2008

Oct 8, 2008 Correction
Draft Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 11

Recovery Plan

Oct 8, 2008

Oct 8, 2008 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Draft Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 12

Recovery Plan

Jun 29, 2010

Jun 29, 2010 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington
  • Publication type: Final
Item 13

Five Year Review

Jan 22, 2018

Jan 22, 2018 Five Year Review (Information Solicitation)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews for 18 Species iโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 14

Delisting

Jun 30, 2021

Jun 30, 2021 Delisting
Removing Golden Paintbrush From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 15

Notice

Jun 30, 2021

Jun 30, 2021 Notice (Post Delisting Monitoring Plan)
Removing Golden Paintbrush From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
  • Publication type: Document Availability
Item 16

Delisting

Jul 19, 2023

Jul 19, 2023 Delisting
Removing Golden Paintbrush From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
  • Publication type: Final
Item 17