'Painted cup' definitions:

Definition of 'painted cup'

noun

Any of various plants of the genus Castilleja having dense spikes of hooded flowers with brightly colored bracts [syn: Indian paintbrush, painted cup]

Definition of 'Painted cup'

From: GCIDE

Painted \Paint"ed\, a.
1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors. [1913 Webster]
As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted bunting. [1913 Webster]
Painted beauty (Zool.), a handsome American butterfly (Vanessa Huntera), having a variety of bright colors,
Painted cup (Bot.), any plant of an American genus of herbs (Castilleia) in which the bracts are usually bright-colored and more showy than the flowers. Castilleia coccinea has brilliantly scarlet bracts, and is common in meadows.
Painted finch. See Nonpareil.
Painted lady (Zool.), a bright-colored butterfly. See Thistle butterfly.
Painted turtle (Zool.), a common American freshwater tortoise (Chrysemys picta), having bright red and yellow markings beneath. [1913 Webster]