Penstemon, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native mostly to the Nearctic, but with a few species also found in the North American portion of the Neotropics. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.
Kroenleinia grusonii, popularly known as the golden barrel cactus, golden ball or mother-in-law's cushion, is a species of barrel cactus which is endemic to east-central Mexico.
Gypsophila repens, the alpine gypsophila or creeping baby's breath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, where it grows on dry, chalky slopes. The Latin name literally means "creeping chalk-lover". It is a prostrate, mat-forming herbaceous perennial, growing around 20 cm (8 in) tall by 30–50 cm (12–20 in) wide. For much of the summer it bears masses of star-shaped flowers which may be white, lilac or light purple, in loose panicles.
Erysimum cheiri, syn. Cheiranthus cheiri, the wallflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), native to Greece, but widespread as an introduced species elsewhere. It is also treated as a hybrid under the name Erysimum × cheiri. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant.
Genista canariensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, known by the common names Canary broom, Canary Islands broom or florist's genista. It is native to the Canary Islands, but it grows as an introduced species in mainland Europe, especially Spain, and on other continents. It has been introduced to California and Washington State in the US. This is a vigorous upright evergreen shrub growing to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall by 1.5 m (4.9 ft) broad, with hairy green stems. The leaves are made up of oval-shaped blue-green leaflets each up to a centimeter long and densely hairy on the undersides. The raceme inflorescence holds up to 20 bright yellow pea-like flowers. The fruit is a legume pod one to two centimeters long containing several dark brown seeds.
Lewisia brachycalyx is a species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae, known by the common name short-sepal bitter-root or shortsepal lewisia. It is native to the mountains of the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it grows in moist habitat such as meadows.
Penstemon heterodoxus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Sierra beardtongue. It is native to California and western Nevada where it grows in several of the mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains to the Sierra Nevada - and the slopes and plateaus to the east. It grows in subalpine and alpine climates in mountain forests, meadows and talus.
Penstemon newberryi is a species of penstemon known by the common name mountain pride or Newberry's penstemon. It is native to the mountains of northern California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in rocky habitat, often at high elevation, such as talus. It is a bushy, mat-forming subshrub growing up to 30 centimetres tall. The leaves are mostly basal on the plant, oblong or oval and toothed, measuring 1 to 4 centimetres in length, with a few smaller pairs along the stem. The glandular inflorescence bears showy magenta flowers 2 to over 3 cm in length. The flower is generally tubular or funnel-shaped and has a coating of short to long and curly hairs in the mouth and on the staminode.
Penstemon procerus is a species of penstemon known by the common name littleflower penstemon. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, as far east in Canada as Manitoba, where it grows in mountain habitat such as meadows, often in alpine climates. This herbaceous perennial forms mats of herbage with some erect stems reaching about 40 centimeters in maximum height. There are several varieties which vary in morphology, some more decumbent than others, some of which are known commonly as pincushion penstemons for their matted forms. In general, the leaves are lance-shaped to oval, plentiful around the base of the plant with smaller ones arranged in opposite pairs along the stem. The inflorescence is made up of one or more clusters of tubular flowers with lipped, lobed mouths. Each flower is no more than one centimeter in length and is purple to blue in color, often with a white throat. The outside of the flower is generally hairless, while the inside may be lined with white or yellowish hairs.
Penstemon grandiflorus, known by the common names shell-leaved penstemon, shell-leaf beardtongue, or large-flowered penstemon, is a tall and showy plant in the Penstemon genus from the plains of North America. Due to its large flowers it has found a place in gardens, particularly ones aimed at low water usage like xeriscape gardens.
Penstemon barrettiae is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Barrett's beardtongue or Barrett's penstemon. It is endemic to a small part of the Pacific Northwest of North America.
Penstemon fruticosus is a species of penstemon known by the common names bush penstemon or shrubby penstemon. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of North America from Oregon to British Columbia, and east to the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Montana, and Alberta.
Penstemon davidsonii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Davidson's penstemon, honoring Dr. George Davidson. It is native to North America from the Sierra Nevada Range in California and Nevada through the Coast and Cascade ranges of Oregon and Washington into British Columbia.
Lilium sherriffiae is a species of Lilium native to Bhutan and Nepal in southeastern Asia.
Androsace lanuginosa, called the woolly rock jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Androsace, native to the western Himalaya. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Aylostera pygmaea, synonyms including Rebutia pygmaea, is a species of cactus in the genus Aylostera, native to Bolivia and northwest Argentina. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Eriocapitella rupicola, a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, is native to Asia. The specific epithet rupicola means "growing on rocks". In Chinese, a common name is yan sheng yin lian hua, which means "rock anemone".
Penstemon pinifolius, the pine-leaved penstemon or pine-needle beardtongue, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to the southwestern USA.
Penstemon isophyllus, the equal-leaved penstemon, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to Mexico.
Penstemon caespitosus, commonly known as mat penstemon, is a summer blooming perennial flower in the large Penstemon genus. It is a widespread plant from near timberline to the foothills in the Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau in North America. It is noted for its ground hugging growth habit and as a plant used in xeriscape and rock gardening.
