Indian paintbrush, the state flower of Wyoming

How to recognize it

The Wyoming Indian paintbrush is a perennial, sometimes woody at the base, usually 18 to 36 inches tall. Its scarlet color comes from bracts, modified upper leaves clustered at the tips of the stems; the true flowers are narrow, pale green tubes that poke out past them. The leaves are narrow and alternate, and the stems range from gray-green to crimson or purple. It blooms from late spring into fall.

A plant that borrows

The paintbrush is semi-parasitic. Its roots tap into the roots of neighboring plants, often sagebrush, for water and nutrients, which is why it is hard to transplant.

Where it grows

The paintbrush is native to the western United States. It grows in shrublands and grassy meadows, often among sagebrush and other shrubs, and tolerates drought, though it favors moister spots.

Where to see it

Look in sagebrush flats, shrublands and meadows and along roadsides and trails in summer.

The state flower since 1917

The Wyoming Daughters of the American Revolution, led by Grace Raymond Hebard, campaigned to give the state both a flag and a flower, and both became law on January 31, 1917. The law spells the plant’s name Castillija linariaefolia. Wyoming has no separate state wildflower.