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This is a very unusual plant, for several reasons: this single species forms the whole genera, it is parasitic, it is annual to biennial, and the flowers are not really flowers. The "flower" that we all see, the apparent green petals tipped with scarlet, are not flowers at all. They are colored bracts, or leaf-like elements, that grow on the stem immediately below the real flower. The true flowers are narrow yellow tubes about 1" long  that emerge from the center of the inflorescence - but you may never actually see them. Indian Paintbrush is, according to my sources, parasitic on the roots of grass plants. You can find Indian Paintbrush growing in a few locations, almost always on rocky roadsides or below cliffs, where the soil is high in minerals, dry, and there's plenty of sun - where grasses are also likely to be happy. I personally believe that this plant normally belongs more in the midwest, perhaps among the original prairies, and has been carried to a few favorable locations in our region by travelling people. Some folks say that the Carolinas also had prairies and grasslands in the past - so perhaps Indian Paintbrush is hanging on in the mountains, wherever conditions are just right for a sun-lover.