Showy penstemon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Showy penstemon |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Penstemon
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| Species: |
spectabilis
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Penstemon spectabilis is a beautiful plant often called the showy penstemon. It's a type of penstemon flower. You can find it growing naturally in sunny southern California and Baja California in Mexico. It likes to live in areas with chaparral (a type of shrubland), scrub, and woodlands, especially in the coastal mountains.
What is the Showy Penstemon?
The showy penstemon is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It's also a herb, which means it has soft stems, not woody ones like a tree. This plant grows straight up and can often be taller than one meter (about 3 feet).
Its leaves are thin and shaped like a spear or an oval. They have jagged edges and can be up to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) long. The leaves grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem. Sometimes, the bases of these leaf pairs join together around the stem.
The Showy Flowers
The plant's flowers grow in a cluster called an inflorescence. Each flower is shaped like a wide-mouthed tube and can be over 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) long. They are a lovely purple-blue color. The inside of the flower's throat is lighter, often lavender or almost white. It's also smooth inside, without any hairs.
Where Does it Grow?
The showy penstemon is often one of the first plants to grow in an area that has recently been disturbed. This could be after a fire or other natural event. It helps new plant life start to grow again.
How Does it Reproduce?
This plant needs help to make seeds. This process is called pollination. Tiny creatures carry pollen from one flower to another. Showy penstemon flowers are pollinated by wasps, like the Pseudomasaris vespoides wasp. They are also pollinated by hummingbirds, which love to drink nectar from the colorful flowers.
