Palmer's Penstemon
Penstemon palmeri var. palmeri
Color: Pink to violet
Common name: Palmer's penstemon
Latin name: Penstemon palmeri var. palmeri
Family: SCROPHULARIACEAE
Height: 20-79 inches
Description: Palmer's penstemon grows erect and has a five-lobed calyx of sepals and a cylindrical corolla and may have an expanded throat. The sterile stamen is partially hairy. The showy, rounded flower has large pink to violet to blue-purple petals. Occasional specimens are red, yellow, or white flowered.
Leaf: The leaves are generally oppositely arranged and have toothed margins.
Range: e Mojave Desert
Habitat: Washes, roadsides, canyon floors, in creosote-bush scrub to pinyon/juniper woodland
Elevation: 1100–2300 m.
Flowering time: May–Jun
Notes: Penstemon palmeri is a drought-tolerant plant, preferring well draining drier soils. It is a dicot that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. The plant is named after the botanist Edward Palmer. The photo was made in the Providence Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve and can be commonly seen along Kelbaker Road in the Preserve.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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