Natural History

Paintbrush are members of the Snapdragon family. When in bloom (which occurs March - September) they are easily distinguished by thier bushy red flowers. There are over a dozen species of paintbrush in Arizona, however, they are very similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart.
 

Indian paintbrush grows in a wide variety of habitats from 2000' to 8000' in elevation including: roadsides, chaparral and clearings in Ponderosa Pine forests. The plant is good at removing selenium (a toxic metal) from the soil.