Indian Paintbrush

     The Indian Paintbrush plant is from the Snapdragon or Figwort Family and is known as hemi-parasites or a root parasite. The only way for a Paintbrush to survive is to stick it's tubes, which are called 'haustoria' into the roots of a host plant. Here in the West, that could be sagebrush. They depend upon another plant for not only nutrients, but water, too. They are annuals. And remember, if you plant their seeds--they need a 'host' plant in order to survive, or they won't live. The height of a Paintbrush entirely depends upon the richness of the soil and how much water it gets. The more water, the better the soil, the taller it becomes. Obviously, this plant doesn't transplant well. Since these plants are growing in my backyard here in Estes I couldn't resist taking pictures of them.