Flowers, which can be seen from April to August (with some variation between regions), are about 5 cm long and red and yellow in color.

The sepals and petal spurs are typically a reddish-orange color, attributed to the anthocyanin pigments pelargonidin and cyanidin,[3] and carotenoids.

[4] Despite several floral adaptations to hummingbird pollination, at ~9,000-10,000 feet in elevation in the eastern drainages of the central Sierra Nevada mountains of California, A. formosa forms hybrid zones with Aquilegia pubescens, which is primarily pollinated by hawk moths.

The flowers are edible, with a sweet taste—though the seeds can be fatal if eaten, and most parts of the plant contain cyanogenic glycosides.

[5] Within its range, the crimson columbine can be found in most kinds of habitat (chaparral, oak woodland, mixed-evergreen or coniferous forest).