The scarlet paint-brush is an annual plant, commonly six to twelve inches high, and is sometimes branched at the base. The leaves are rough-nerved and wavy-margined. Occasionally the leaves have two linear basal lobes somewhat like those of the eastern or swamp scarlet paint-brush (_Castilleja coccinea_), which has similar flower clusters but grows in swampy places.
The castillejas are mostly Western American plants, some being parasitic on the roots of other plants. They are named in honor of D. Castillejo, a Spanish botanist. In addition to the scarlet and purple paint-brushes, several other castillejas are found in the state. Lindheimer’s paint-brush (_Castilleja lindheimeri_) is very much like the purple paint-brush, but it has red or orange bracts. It is a perennial plant which grows on limestone hillsides of Southwest-central Texas. The woolly-stemmed paint-brush (_Castilleja lanata_) has woolly-gray stems and leaves and red flower clusters. It may be noticed in chaparral thickets and canyons in West Texas.
[Illustration: TEXAS TOAD-FLAX SMALL-FLOWERED BEARD-TONGUE]
Small-Flowered Pentstemonor or Beard-Tongue (_Pentstemon laxiflorus_) grows in the sandy soil of post oak woods in Central and East Texas. The slender stems are 1-2 ft. high and are topped by slender-stalked flower clusters. The corollas are a pale lavender, about an inch long. This is a very common plant in the state and has been given various names by botanists, the latest one being _laxiflorus_. It is a close relative, probably a variety, of the slender beard-tongue (_Pentstemon gracilis_) of moist prairies from Minnesota to Oklahoma.
Texas Toad-Flax (_Linaria texana_) has pale blue flowers similar to those of the Canada toad-flax. The corollas have a slender spur about half an inch long. The slender stems are 1-2 feet high, growing from a cluster of basal leaves which are finely divided into somewhat rounded segments. It is widespread in sandy soil from Florida to California and blooms early in the spring.
Many other figworts are found in the state. The nearest relative to the garden snapdragon is the climbing snapdragon (_Maurandia antirrhiniflora_). Mullein is widespread in the state. The common monkey-flower is _Mimulus glabratus_.