Scientific Name: Penstemon fruticosus
Family Name: Scrophulariaceae
Bloom Period: Spring to early summer
Life Span: Short-lived perennial.
Height: Up to 40 cm tall.
Habitat: Scatted and locally common at lower to subalpine elevations on dry, rocky hillsides, cliffs, and roadsides in open forests.
Leaf Description: Mostly opposite linear to broadly lance-shaped with smooth to toothed edges.
Flower and Petal Description: Blue-lavender to purple with 2 lipped corollas. The lower lip is hairy white inside. In pairs in a short leafy bracted cluster at ends of stems.
Stem Description: Dark green and hairless above.
Fruit Description: Small capsules.
Medicinal Uses: Native Americans have used petals as a dye for their basket materials.
This flower is native to the area.