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Penstemon utahensis
Penstemon utahensis, also called Utah penstemon or Utah firecracker, is a species of penstemon native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in scrub, woodland, and canyons. It is a perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height near half a meter. The thick leaves are located around the base of the plant and in opposite pairs along the stem. The upper leaves are narrow and often folded lengthwise, measuring up to 7.5 centimeters long. The showy inflorescence bears many bright red-pink flowers up to 2.5 centimeters in length. They have narrow floral tubes ending in wide, lobed mouths.
It has a reputation for being a difficult species to keep in a garden among penstemon enthusiasts, though valued for its showy red flowers. Its seeds require cool, moist stratification for eight weeks for sprouting.
The Utah penstemon is native to five western states, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. In these states it largely grows in the Colorado River basin, extending into the deserts of southern California only as far west as the Kingston Range and New York Mountains. In Arizona it can be found in Mohave, Coconino, and Navajo counties. In the Grand Canyon it grows at higher elevations the Supai Formation up to the rim. It is also recorded in the three southern counties of Nevada, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark. To the east it grows in southwest Utah and throughout the Canyon Lands into western Colorado. In Colorado the only records of the plant are near the boarder with Utah in Mesa and Montezuma counties. It can be found at elevations of 400–2,500 meters (1,300–8,200 ft).
Firleaf beardtongue · Stemless beardtongue · Sharpleaf penstemon · Los Alamos beardtongue · Alberta beardtongue · White penstemon · White River Beardtongue · Whitemargin beardtongue · Gilia beardtongue · Penstemon angelicus · Siskiyou beardtongue · Broadbeard beardtongue
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Penstemon utahensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
