Penstemon palmeri A. Gray
Palmer’s penstemon
Palmer’s penstemon is native to the American southwest.
Plants: 1½–6½′ (50–200 cm) in height. Though most penstemons lack a detectable odor, this one has fragrance.
Leaves: Usually opposite, toothed. Leaves are sparse on the stem, and fused to it.
Flowers: On spikes (panicles atop the plant. Each flower is tubular, with five lobes, two above, three below. There is a central yellowish staminode that looks like a diminutive bottle brush. Flowers are white, pink, or rarely red, with red stripes. The flowers usually point in the same direction. They appear from May to June, or in some areas, as long as March to September.
Fruits: Not mentioned even in the Jepson Herbarium Flora, so apparently inconspicuous.
Habitats: Along roadsides, in canyons and washes, in creosote scrub and in juniper woodlands, at elevations between 3609–7546′ (1.1–2.3 km).
Online References:
Wikimedia Commons (photos)
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) 
6/2/2009 · Middle Emerald Falls Trail, Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 3½ × 4½″ (9.4 × 11 cm) 
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
6/2/2009 · Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (8.2 × 9.5 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Plantaginaceae | Plantains |
| Genus | Penstemon | “Beard-tongues,” a reference to flower shape |
| Species | palmeri | After Edward Palmer (1829-1911) (From Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, June 11, 1867) |
Penstemon palmeri description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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