WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

This tough succulent with erect stems to 8-inches tall, usually in clusters, loves harsh mountain slopes and rocky ridges. Look for the clusters of dark-red flowers and crowded fleshy leaves circling the stem.

FLOWERS: May–September. Dense, flat-topped, terminal clusters of reddish-purple flowers with 5 tiny pointed petals to 1/4-inch long (6 mm), 5 stamens longer than petals.

LEAVES: Alternate, densely crowded on stem. Blades elliptic to oval, to 2-inches long (5 cm), tips pointed, margins entire to irregularly toothed.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly loam soils, rock crevices, boulders, talus; spruce-fir forests, alpine meadows and tundra.

ELEVATION: 8,000–13,200 feet.

RANGE: CO, NM, UT; Rocky Mountain states and westward.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Queen’s Crown, R. rhodantha (see photo), in northern NM mountains, has a rounded cluster of pink flowers and slender leaves.

NM COUNTIES: Widespread in NM mountains at high-elevation habitats: Bernalillo, Cibola, Colfax, Dona Ana, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Socorro, Taos.