Firecracker Penstemon

The Firecracker Penstemon, Penstemon Eatonii, is found in the southern part of the western states, mostly in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. The plant often sports large numbers of flowers which hang down from the stems, making the whole look like the plant is weeping. The green leaves of Penstemon Eatonii grow mostly around the base, in a rosette, but also some way up the stems, though the majority of the stem bears only flowers, often a hundred or more, in closely-separated clusters. Stems may reach a height of three feet but often the weight of flowers causes them to lie close to the ground. Individual blooms are a little over an inch in length, tubular, with five small lobes at the tip opening out just a little way; inside are yellowish stamens and anthers. The infertile staminode is either hairless, or lightly hairy at the tip. The calyx is short, around 1/8 of an inch long, with five ovate, overlapping lobes. Flowers tend to point all in one direction.

Taken June 16th, 2009 but the location has been lost. A closeup of the flowers is below: (sorry that it is not a perfect focus)

Also taken in June of 2009.