Penstemon palmeri var. palmeri

Palmer's penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Palmer's penstemon is a California native perennial found in the Mojave Desert in washes, roadsides, and canyon floors from creosote-bush scrub to pinyon and juniper woodland at elevations of 300 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces fragrant, pale lavender-pink flowers 25 to 32 millimeters long with strong venation and a wide, glandular corolla. Growing 50 to 200 centimeters tall with glaucous, glabrous stems, it has an erect and robust habit. Its thick, upper cauline leaves are 40 to 120 millimeters long, triangular-shaped, and clasp around the stem with slightly toothed edges. The plant features a distinctive staminode with long, spreading yellow hairs, adding to its unique botanical character.

Habitat: Washes, roadsides, canyon floors, in creosote-bush scrub to pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 300-2600 m

Bioregions: DMoj

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.