With hairless to hairy stems 6–24-inches tall, this mountain flower has showy compact spikes of hairy flowers in various hues of rose to scarlet. Note the leaves with 3 prominent veins and the colorful, oval bracts. This species hybridizes with Yellow Paintbrush, C. septentrionalis, to produce a dazzling variety of flower colors, often in close proximity.

FLOWER: June–September. Cluster spike-like with colorful bracts. Bracts are hairy, oval with 3–7 lobes, pink to crimson to lilac, often with greenish bases. Small, beak-like, green flowers with a red margin, extend slightly beyond the sepal tube (calyx).

LEAVES: Alternate, often reddish, with 3 prominent veins. Blades linear to lance-shaped, 3/4–2 3/8-inches long (2–6 cm), usually entire, upper leaves sometimes cut into deep lobes.

HABITAT: Moist gravel loam soils, slopes, open areas; subalpine and alpine meadows, aspen-spruce forests.

ELEVATION: 7,000–12,300 feet.

RANGE: CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Hayden’s Paintbrush, C. haydenii, in northern NM meadows above timberline, has pink flowers and lobed bracts and leaves.

NM COUNTIES: Northern NM mountains in mid- to high-elevation, moist habitats: Colfax, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Sierra, Taos.