Penstemon baccharifolius
Rock Penstemon
Family: Plantaginaceae
This is an unusual penstemon with small, dentate (toothed) leaves. Pinkish red flowers can appear any time of year, but most often in warm weather.
Full to part sun, moderate to low water when established. Provide locations with good drainage (avoid clay soil, or amend with gravel to provide lots of drainage and air). These plants naturally grow in rocky soils, often on cliffs and they resent clay or water-logged soils. This plant is hardy to 0°F. Cut back when necessary.
When shopping for this plant, look for the toothed leaves. There is a horticultural variety called ‘Diablo’ which has brighter red flowers and blooms more often, but this plant does not live long in the landscape, and is not nearly as tough as the natural species. The ‘Diablo’ variety has smooth foliage, lacks the teeth, so if you want to avoid the weaker horticultural selection, look out for that.
Attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators. Larval hosts for many moths and butterflies including the following:
Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
Dark Buckeye (Junonia nigrosuffusa)
Anicia checkerspot (Euphydryas anicia ssp. hermosa)
Arachne Checkerspot (Poladryas arachne)
Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona)
owlet moths (family Noctuidae)
geometrid moths (family Geometridae)
hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe)
Many sources mistakenly translate the Latin name Penstemon as meaning “five stamens”, but this is incorrect. The “pen” in Penstemon doesn’t come from penta (five) but from the Latin paene meaning “nearly” or “almost”, while stemon is derived from Greek for “thread”. “Nearly a thread” is a reference to the staminode, which is almost a functional stamen. The species baccarifolius means “baccharis-leafed”—the dentate leaves of the species resembles many species of Baccharis.
Native to central and west Texas, south into Chihuahua and Coahuila on Limestone crevices & bluffs.