Ipomopsis rubra, a member of the phlox family, is a plant that grows as an erect biennial or short-lived perennial. It is mainly found in the southeastern U.S. The plant has narrow, unbranched stems with leaves that grow up to 2-6 feet tall. In the summer, the plant produces narrow, spike-like panicles of red tubular flowers. Each flower has a thin corolla tube that flares at the end to form a five-lobed star. The flowers are scarlet red on the outside and yellow dotted with red on the inside. The plant has delicate, feathery, pinnate leaves with thread-like segments. It is known by many regional names, including standing cypress, scarlet gilia, red gilia, Texas plume, flame flower, Indian plume, and Spanish larkspur. It is sometimes sold as Gilia rubra.

The plant proliferates in dry to medium, well-drained soil and requires full sun, although it can tolerate some light shade. If optimal growing conditions are met, it will self-seed freely. If planted from seed, it will not bloom until the second year, but it will continue to be in the garden for many years through self-seeding, similar to hollyhocks and foxgloves.