Parrys Penstemon

Penstemon parryi

Parry's Penstemon, also called Parry's beardtongue or Desert Penstemon, is a wildflower native to the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It is a perennial that blooms in March and April. In the wild, plants flower in their second year. In cultivation, flowering is often achieved in the first year if seed is planted in the autumn.
Parry's Penstemon Saguaro Cactus Spring 2015 A field of wildflowers covers the desert floor before transitioning into a stand of Saguaro cactus under the clear blue sky of the Arizona Desert. The mountainous background are known as the Tortolita's with a peak about 1400m. Native American peoples known as the Hohokam heavily occupied the area for approximately 700 years beginning around AD 500. Parrys Penstemon,Penstemon parryi

Appearance

At the base of the plant are lanceolate bluish green leaves that grow in a rosette pattern. From the base emerge the flower stalks, which are 2 to 5 feet high and topped with numerous deep-throated flowers, usually pink but selected horticulturally for red color.

Parry's penstemon is a desert plant. It thrives in full sun to part shade. A native lowland desert species, Parry's penstemon can survive on average Sonoran Desert rainfall, but not prolonged drought. It attracts hummingbirds. That plus the unusual splash of pink to red it provides make it a favorite xeriscape flower.
Parrys Penstemon or Penstemon parryi Geotagged,Parrys Penstemon,Penstemon parryi,United States,Winter

Naming

Parry’s Penstemon was named for Charles C. Parry, who served as surgeon-naturalist on the Mexican Boundary Survey in the mid 19th century.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderLamiales
FamilyPlantaginaceae
GenusPenstemon
SpeciesP. parryi
Photographed in
United States of America