''Penstemon palmeri'', known by the common name Palmer's penstemon, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the genus ''

Penstemon ''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 250 species of flowering plants native mostly to the Nearctic, but with a few species also found in the North American portion of the Neotropics. It is the largest genus of flowerin ...

'' that is notable for its showy, rounded flowers, and for being one of the few scented penstemons.. USDA Profile - P. palmeri
/ref> The plant, in the family Plantaginaceae, is named after the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

Edward Palmer.

Distribution

''Penstemon palmeri'' is native to desert mountains from the eastern Mojave Desert in California, to eastern Nevada, northeastern Arizona, and New Mexico, and north through areas in Utah,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, Wyoming,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, and eastern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. ''Penstemon palmeri'' is a drought-tolerant

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

plant, preferring well draining drier soils. It grows in washes and bajadas, roadsides, canyon floors,

creosote bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

scrub, and juniper woodlands, from .Jepson -''P. palmeri''
/ref>

Description

''Penstemon palmeri'', Palmer's penstemon, grows erect and may reach height. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

are generally oppositely arranged and have toothed margins. The inflorescence is a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

or raceme with small bracts. The flower has a five-lobed calyx of sepals and a cylindrical corolla which may have an expanded throat. The

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & C ...

is partially hairy. The showy, rounded flower has large pink to violet to blue-purple petals and is fragrant, which distinguishes it from other, similar-looking penstemon. Occasional specimens are red, yellow, or white flowered.

Varieties

There are three ''Penstemon palmeri'' varieties: *''Penstemon palmeri'' var. ''palmeri'' - Palmer's penstemon, most occurrences of this species are this variety. *''Penstemon palmeri'' var. ''macranthus'' - scented beardtongue, is endemic to the

Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife Fund, and the Central Basin a ...

in Nevada *''Penstemon palmeri'' var. ''eglandulosus'' - scented beardtongue, is limited to Utah and Arizona

Ecology

It is evergreen, and it is a larval host to both the Arachne checkerspot and the

variable checkerspot The variable checkerspot or Chalcedon checkerspot (''Euphydryas chalcedona'') is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western North America, where its range stretches from Alaska in the north to Baja California in the south and e ...

.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Penstemon palmeri'' var. ''palmeri''''Penstemon palmeri'' - Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2716749 palmeri Flora of the Western United States Flora of Nevada Flora of Utah Flora of Arizona Flora of New Mexico Flora of Wyoming Flora of Colorado Flora of Washington (state) North American desert flora Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the Mojave Desert Flora without expected TNC conservation status