The true flowers are slender, two-lipped tubes of pale or greenish color about 1 inch long. They are surrounded and often completely hidden by the conspicuous, brick-red, modified leaves (bracts) which form a flower-like cluster at the upper ends of the stems. The bract colors in this species vary considerably through several shades of red. Plant is 8-15 inches tall composed of several leafy stems, very tough and woody at their lower ends, rising from a woody root crown. Grows in foothills and higher plains, extending upward through montane zone. Blooms June-July.

In the early summer, this spectacular plant may be seen in the prairie stretches along the highway between Denver and Colorado Springs—or a bit later in the season—literally carpeting the drier areas of South Park. In higher altitudes, particularly in the well-watered vales of Engelmann Spruce, there are other species with bracts of brilliant shades of rose and maroon. In those same high gardens and on above timberline there is a yellow paintbrush. The fortunate flower hunter may even be rewarded by a yellow one tipped with red—or red edged with yellow.