Public Lands
Name: Paint Brush Prairie Conservation Area
Where is it? Pettis County, Missouri
Owner: Missouri Department of Conservation
Facilities: three parking lots. Explore the prairie on your own.
On June 14, 2008, the most diverse wildflower assemblage was at the first parking lot on Manila Road. While a few Indian paint brush plants (Castilleja coccinea) were still in flower, other plants were putting on the bigger show. These included beard tongue (Penstemon spicata), prairie parsley (Polytaenia nuttallii), golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea), yellow tickseeds (Coreopsis lanceolata and C. palmata), blue larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum), loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata), and sensitive brier (Mimosa quadrivalvis). A stop along the road in the prairie yielded New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus). The last parking stop in the prairie included a wetland habitat.