AND THEN THERE WERE THREE!
Two penstemons met on a SoCal crest
Scarlet and Purple, each knew they were best
A bee sipped one, flew dust to the other
Scarlet as father, Purple as mother
Bred Violet, classy best in the West.
Scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius) and
purple or showy penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis)
are short-lived perennials flaunting exhuberantly flowering
stalks, attracting many pollinators – hummingbirds,
bees (Anthidium illustre is one), Syrphid flies, et al.
Violet is a well-known hybrid (Penstemon x parishii).
These penstemons are great for classrooms and public
events as colorfully clear examples of what happens
when natural hybridization takes place.
The ability of these penstemons to attract pollinators makes
them a beautiful and useful addition to your water-conserving
southern California inland garden.
In the photo: scarlet bugler is on the left, purple or showy
penstemon is at the top, and their violet hybrid,
Penstemon x parishii is center right.
Thanks for this very interesting post. The beauty of Penstemon’s can’t be beat! Spectacular Penstemon is well-named.
A beautiful approach to gardening indeed! A very nice plant, the Penstemon’s are among one of the plants with great beauty!
Excuse my ignorance but are these also called snapdragons? The garden of the house I grew up in was filled with them!
Penstemons are members of the same family as snapdragons (Plantaginaceae), but they are very different in having large stalks of flowers, large stiff leaves and, as you see here, they easily hybridize. These particular species grow about three to four feet tall on substantial stems.