Navajo Lake Trail, July 17, 2000. But once the buds open there is no question. P. whippleanus , for Captain A. W. Whipple, has about as rich a color as any flower. P. whippleanus is common in high mountains and lower alpine forest openings and along trails. Often the stem has a slight arch to one side as it grows from one leaf node to the next.
Color varies from an intense burgundy purple to a silvery sheen purple.
Family Semi-desert, foothills. Mesa Verde National Park, Wetherill Road, June 5, 2001. Penstemon barbatus is very common throughout the lower elevations of the Four Corners area, and it is abundant in Mesa Verde National Park. Typically it is bright red but the unusual hot pink of the flower at the left and below deserved a photograph. Family Semi-desert, foothills.