WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Slender and graceful, this 12–18-inch tall plant stands erect with loose whorls of 2–3 violet to lavender-pinkish flowers spread out along the upper half of the multiple stems. Note the stem and leaves are smooth and hairless with a waxy-white covering.

FLOWER: April–August. Whorled clusters of slightly curved, tubular, lavender flowers, 1/2–1-inch long (14–25 mm); the 2 lips flair open with 2 upper and 3 lower lobes. Dark nectar guide lines mark the throat; short, yellow hairs cover the curved, slightly enlarged tip of the sterile stamen (staminode), which is within the throat.

LEAVES: Basal leaves fold along the mid-vein; stem leaves opposite. Blades elliptical, fleshy with a waxy-white covering, 1–2-inches long (2.5–5 cm), 3/4–1 1/8-inches wide (1–3 cm); upper leaves clasp the stem; margins entire, tip pointed.

HABTAT: Sandy, gravelly soils, mesas, meadows; prairies, desert grasslands and scrub, foothills, pinyon-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,500–7,500 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM, OK, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: NM has about 22 species of blue-shaded Penstemons. James Penstemon, P. jamesii, in the eastern plains, has narrow, toothed leaves without a waxy-white covering, hairy lower lobes, and a bearded staminode protruding beyond the throat. Buckley Penstemon, P. buckeyi, in the eastern plains, is 18–28-inches tall with broad 1–3-inch long leaves with a waxy-white covering, leaves extend into the closely packed spike of flowers, bracts are rounded.

NM COUNTIES: Nearly statewide (absent Cibola, Colfax cos.) in low- to mid-elevation, dry habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Dona Ana,  Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union, Valencia.