Clumps of densely hairy, unbranched stems 5–12-inches tall have densely packed spikes of pale greenish-yellow to pink bracts that resemble flower petals. Note the small, pointed greenish-yellow to pink flowers extend beyond the bracts. Like most paintbrushes, this species is partially parasitic on the roots of surrounding grasses and junipers.

FLOWERS: April–July. Surrounded by slender hairy bracts, the 1-inch long (2.5 cm) pointed, tubular flowers extend well beyond the bracts and surrounding sepal tube (calyx). Note the small flowers have an arching upper lip and a shorter lower lip with 3 prominent pointed lobes.

LEAVES: Alternate. Narrow blades, 1–3-inches long (2.5–7.5 cm), often folded along midrib, linear or with 3 slender lobes; surfaces softly hairy.

HABITAT: Dry gravelly, sandy, gypsum, limestone soils, roadsides, disturbed areas; shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,500–6,500 feet.

RANGE: Plains of NM and TX north into Canada.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Of the 21 species of Castilleja in NM, the densely hairy herbage and pale greenish-yellow to pink bracts distinguish this species. Marsh-meadow Yellow Paintbrush, C. lineata, occurs in wet, mountainous habitats in the northern half of NM.

NM COUNTIES: Widely scattered in southern central, and ne NM in low– to min-elevation dry, rocky habitats: Bernalillo, Chaves, Cibola, De Baca, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Mora, Otero, Quay, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance, Union.