Scarlet bugler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scarlet bugler |
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The scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius) is a beautiful wild plant. It is a type of penstemon, a group of flowering plants. You can find it growing naturally in California and parts of Mexico.
This plant loves dry places. It grows in many different habitats, from coastal areas to deserts. You might see it in chaparral or oak woodlands.
What Does the Scarlet Bugler Look Like?
The scarlet bugler is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years and has soft, green stems, not woody ones like a tree. It has many straight, smooth stems that stand upright. These stems can grow taller than one meter (about 3 feet).
Leaves and Flowers
The leaves of the scarlet bugler are thick and smooth, without any teeth along their edges. They can be up to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) long. The leaves grow in pairs directly opposite each other on the stem. Some pairs of leaves even join together around the stem.
At the top of the stem, you'll find a long cluster of flowers called an inflorescence. The flowers are narrow and shaped like tubes. They have small parts that stick out at their openings. The longest flowers can be about 3 centimeters (just over an inch) long. They are a bright red or orange-red color and are smooth all over.
How Scarlet Bugler Plants Mix with Others
The scarlet bugler sometimes creates new types of plants. It often hybridizes with another plant called the showy penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis). The showy penstemon has wider, purple-blue flowers.
When these two plants mix, they create a new plant called Penstemon × parishii. This new plant has pinkish-purple flowers. Its size is usually somewhere between the scarlet bugler and the showy penstemon.
