You can’t miss this dramatic plant with clusters of nodding red flowers on 1–2 foot erect stems surrounded by lobed leaves. Note the long spurs on the base of the flower.

FLOWERS: June-September. Red with yellow tips; 5 petal-like sepals 1/4–3/4-inch (7–20 mm) long, about twice as long as the petals and spreading away from the flower axis; 5 petals 1/2–1 3/16-inch (16–32 cm) long with red spurs pointing backwards.

LEAVES: Basal, alternate on stem. Leaves compound, divided into 2–3 lobed leaflets.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly limestone soils, mountain meadows, rocky slopes; ponderosa to subalpine forests.

ELEVATION: 5,000–10,000 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The look-alike, Western Red Columbine, A. elegantula, (see photo below) has yellow-greenish, petal-like sepals about the same length as the petals and more or less parallel (not perpendicular) to the floral axis.

NM COUNTIES: Common statewide in mountains in mid- to high-elevation, moist habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Sandoval, San Juan, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance.