Woolly spikes packed with tiny white to pink flowers extend 7–18 inches above a cluster of erect, oval basal leaves. Note the cylindrical spike of flowers and the long stems (petioles) on the basal leaves.

FLOWER: June–August. Hairy spikes dense with flowers line the top 2–5  inches of a 7–18-inch tall flower stem. Tiny flowers nest in partially united sepals (calyx) with woolly lobes. Petals are white to pinkish-purple with 2 lips that extend only slightly beyond the calyx lobes; stamens have white filaments that protrude far beyond the petals.

LEAVES: Basal leaves with long stems (petioles). Blades oval to oblong, 2–8 inches long (5–20 cm), surfaces hairy, margins serrated. Stem leaves alternate, much smaller.

HABITAT: Moist soils, stream banks, wooded slopes; sagebrush, pinyon-oak, ponderosa, mixed conifer-aspen forests.

ELEVATION: 6,000–10,000 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CO, NM, WY.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Alpine Kittentails, S. alpina, in northern NM mountains above 10,000 feet, has basal leaves less than 2 inches long, and reddish to purplish flowers.

NM COUNTIES: Northern and southern NM mountains in mid- to high-elevation, moist habitats: Catron, Cibola, Colfax, McKinley, Mora, Los Alamos, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Taos, Union.