[swcoloradowildflowers.com] Etymology: "Chrom" is Greek for "color". Aven Nelson named this species Castilleja chromosa in 1899 from a specimen he collected in 1898. The genus name, "Castilleja", honors Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), Spanish botanist and Professor of Botany in Cadiz, Spain. In the late 1770s Jose Celestino Mutis (who was born in Cadiz, Spain but spent most of his life in Columbia) named a new Columbian genus "Castilleja" to honor his countryman. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)

[swcoloradowildflowers.com] Bracts, Flowers: Castilleja chromosa's vivid red color is not the flower color; it is the color of the modified leaves, the "bracts". The flowers in Castilleja chromosa (as in all other Castilleja) are actually very inconspicuous narrow, green tubes. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)