Palmer's Penstemon
Penstemon palmeri, Snapdragon or Figwort Family: ( Scrophulariaceae ), Palmer's Penstemon. Also called: Pink Wild Snapdragon, Balloon Flower, Scented Penstemon, Monster Penstemon.
A low evergreen perennial whose leaves are gray, blue - green, triangular, and toothed. Its upper leaf bases are joined together around its tall stems. It has fragrant, large-mouthed flowers with 2 upper pink lobes and 3 reflexed, pink, magenta-lined lower lobes.
In Arizona it naturally grows at elevations between 3,500 and 6,500 feet.
Its nectar smells like honey.
Height: About 2 - 3 feet in height. The branching flower spikes can reach 5’ tall!
Flowers: The flower is 1 - 2 inches in size, funnel-shaped, with short round lobes. The corolla is about 3/4 inch long, glandular and hairy on the outside. It has a broad upper corolla with a 2 - lobed lip, bent upward. The lower corolla lip is 3 - lobed and bent downward. There are 5 stamens, the fifth is sterile but bearded at the tip.
Stalk: Several erect, sparsely leaved stems with pinkish-lavender, bilaterally symmetrical flowers in a long, open, interrupted cluster.
Blooming Time: April - June.
Leaves: Green to blue - green, fleshy, about 2 - 5 inches long, lanceolate, without stalks, smooth, those at the midstem are broadest at the base.
Found: Found at 3,500 and 6,500 feet desert mountain elevations in Arizona.
Elevation: 3,500 and 6,500 feet. Will grow in low elevation xeriscape gardens. Bumblebees like to crawl into the large fuzzy flowers.
Habitat: Chalky/alkaline, Dry, Sandy, Well-drained/light soils. An ideal landscape plant in Arizona.
Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken Summer Winds Nursery. Glendale. April 16, 2008.
