My Penstemon Identification Search

Parry's Penstemon Mosaic-2

I did a little research to identify plants I grew from seed but have forgotten which variety I planted in this section of my garden. I purchased some plants from Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens and some packets from Harlow Gardens.

 

Here is a descrption from:

southwestdesertflora.com/index.html

 

Scientific Name: Penstemon parryi

Common Name: Parry's Beardtongue

Also Called: Parry's Penstemon

Family: Scrophulariaceae, Figwort or Snapdragon Family - Moving to Plantaginaceae

Synonyms: ()

Status: Native

Duration: Perennial

Size: Up to 3 feet or more under natural conditions, taller when cultivated.

Growth Form: Forb/herb; single or multiple erect stems, plants glabrous and glaucous.

Leaves: Green, pale green; leaves opposite, in pairs, narrowly lanceolate, or arrow-shaped.

Flower Color: Pink; flowers on long spikes along upper stems, flowers tubular or salverform, flowers with short pedicel (stalks), as with many Penstemon flowers this species has bilateral symmetrical flowers.

Flowering Season: March to May.

Elevation: 1,500 to 5,000 feet.

 

Habitat Preferences: Mountain canyons, well-drained slopes.

 

Recorded Range: Parry's Penstemon is rare in the United States were it is only found naturally in southern Arizona. It is also native to northern Mexico.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Penstemon parryi.

 

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.

Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.

Wetland Indicator: No information available.

Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

 

Genus Information: In North America there are 250 species and 393 accepted taxa overall for Penstemon. World wide, The Plant List includes 301 accepted species names and includes a further 188 infraspecific rank for the genus.

In the Southwestern United States, Arizona there are 43 species of Penstemon, in California there are 55 species, Nevada has 50 species, New Mexico has 47 species, Texas has 24 species, Utah has 73 species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.

 

Comments: Penstemon parryi is native to Arizona but is never common and certainly not observed in large numbers under natural conditions. Additionally, this species is regularly used by government entities in highway and road-way seed mixtures, which likely artificially adds to its overall range.

 

Of all of the Penstemon cultivated for horticultural purposes, at least in central Arizona, Parry's Penstemon is one of the most common. It withstands extreme temperatures, does well with little water, and its seeds are easy to harvest and plant.

 

Date Profile Completed: 08/20/2016, updated format 10/03/2017

References:

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search - (accessed 08/18/2016)

plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile...

Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.

The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 08/17/2016).

www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Plantaginaceae/Penstemon/

Native Plant Information Network, NPIN (2013). Published on the Internet www.wildflower.org/plants/ [accessed: 08/20/2016]. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.

www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PEPA24

SEINet for synonyms, scientific names, recorded geographic locations and general information

swbiodiversity.org/seinet/(accessed ).

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Also, see this description from www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/...

 

Scientific: Penstemon parryi

Common: Parry's penstemon

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Origin: Lower uplands, foothills, and slopes of Arizona south into Sonora, Mexico.

Pronunciation: Pen-STE-mon PAR-ree-i

 

Hardiness zones:

Sunset 12 and 13

USDA 9-11 (arid regions only)

 

Landscape Use: Winter color, accent, landscape border, rock gardens, desert gardens.

 

Form & Character: Rosetting and upright, stiff and rigid, small but visually demanding.

 

Growth Habit: Herbaceous perennial, clumping with upright flower spikes, 3 to 4 feet tall.

 

Foliage/texture: Grayish to glaucous green, glabrous, lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong leaves to 5 inches long, clasping, with or without petiole; medium texture.

 

Flowers & fruits: Flowers in spikes, corolla to 3/4 inch long, rose-magenta, abruptly inflated, staminode included, yellow bearded, fruit small oblong-rounded.

 

Seasonal color: Parry's penstemon bears striking spikes of rose-magenta flowers during February and March in Phoenix.

 

Temperature: Parry's penstemon actively grows only during the cooler time of year in lower desert climates.

 

Light: Full sun

 

Soil: Well-drained soils or else cultivate on the dry side.

 

Watering: Infrequent

 

Pruning: Remove spent flower spikes unless harvesting seed.

 

Propagation: Seed

 

Disease and pests: Root rot only if soil poorly drained.

 

Additional comments: Parry's penstemon is a wonderfully spectacular accent plant for winter and spring desert gardens. Its foliage is more glaucous than that of P. eatoni. It will reseed sometimes in landscape settings which is to your advantage. There are over 250 species in the genus Penstemon.

Done