Penstemon heterophyllus
Encyclopedia
Penstemon heterophyllus is a species of penstemon
known by the common names bunchleaf penstemon and foothill beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in all of the major coastal mountain ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada foothills.
to chaparral
to forests. It is a perennial herb producing upright, branching stems easily exceeding one meter in height and becoming woody at the bases. The leaves are variable in shape and may reach nearly 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence
produces several wide-mouthed tubular flowers up to 4 centimeters in length. The flowers may be shades of blue or purple to nearly magenta.
s have been developed for use in Mediterranean-climate and other low-water-use gardens, including:
Penstemon
Penstemon , Beard-tongue, is a large genus of North American and East Asian plants traditionally placed in the Scrophulariaceae family. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae...
known by the common names bunchleaf penstemon and foothill beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in all of the major coastal mountain ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada foothills.
Description
Penstemon heterophyllus is a member of the flora in many local habitat types from grasslandGrassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
to chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
to forests. It is a perennial herb producing upright, branching stems easily exceeding one meter in height and becoming woody at the bases. The leaves are variable in shape and may reach nearly 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
produces several wide-mouthed tubular flowers up to 4 centimeters in length. The flowers may be shades of blue or purple to nearly magenta.
Cultivation
Several cultivarCultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have been developed for use in Mediterranean-climate and other low-water-use gardens, including:
- 'Electric Blue'
- 'Margarita BOP'
- 'Blue Springs'.