It's that time of the year when alpine regions of the mountains are filled with beautiful wildflowers, a colorful display that will end with the first frost (which comes early at high altitudes). A favorite wildflower of mine is so-called, "Indian Paintbrush", also known as "prairie fire". The bright red flowers really light up mountain meadows in the Canadian Rockies, which is where these photos were taken.
There are 200 species of the plant which grows in the western Americas from Alaska to Patagonia. Coloration ranges from a deep red to white. The flowers are edible and were consumed as greens by some American Indian tribes. Indian paintbrush was also used as a traditional treatment for arthritis.
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