Castilleja Species, Desert Paintbrush, Showy Northwestern Indian Paintbrush

Per Jan Emming, of Destination:Forever Ranch and Gardens, a 40 acre desert botanical garden/sustainable living homestead, AZ.:
"Sc...Read Morearlet Indian paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa) is a favorite wildflower that appears in mid-spring at lower and middle-elevation desert habitats. Highly showy, these hemiparasites draw some of their nutrition from other plants, as do a number of other desert species I've featured lately. Apparently political considerations are pressuring people to drop the "Indian" portion of the common name, shortening it to simply "paintbrush". Regardless of the name, the beauty won't change and neither will the appeal it holds to both humans and hummingbirds.

The red "petals" are actually modified colored leaves called bracts, and the actual flower is an inconspicuous lime green affair tucked inside. If you look carefully you can see the stamens and pistil exserted beyond the tip of the green flower. This positions both portions for contact with the foreheads of hummingbirds, which will transfer pollen between different plants as they feed."