Plant Name

Scientific Name: Penstemon eatonii

Common Names: Firecracker Penstemon, Eaton's Firecracker, Eaton's Penstemon

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain

Flower Color: Red

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer

Height: To 40 inches (100 cm) tall

Description: The hairless, 1 inch (2.5 cm) long flowers are narrowly tubular and have 5 barely spreading, rounded lobes and stamens that project beyond the corolla. The showy flowers are clustered along tall flower stalks. The leaves are green, leathery, opposite, and ovate at the plant base to lanceolate higher up on the plant.

The similar Hackberry Beardtongue (Penstemon subulatus) has non-projecting stamens, narrower leaves and flowers, and more spreading flower lobes.

Both the plants and seeds are commercially available. These attractive, easy to grow plants are popular for both xeriscape gardens and native landscaping.

Special Characteristics

Hummingbird Flower – The nectar-filled flowers attract hummingbirds.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family
Genus: Penstemon Schmidel – beardtongue
Species: Penstemon eatonii A. Gray – firecracker penstemon

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map
Time to Plant Penstemon Seeds! – The Firefly Forest