48 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



Travellers in the west rarely fail to notice the brilliant 

 scarlet species kncnvn as Pcnfsfenion Torreyi, or as most 

 seed-catalogs have it, Pcnistcuwn barhatiis Torreyi. It is 

 one of the brightest and most abundant of plants in all 

 desert-like places, especially in the Southwest. There is an- 

 other form with rose-])ink flowers in larger clusters found in 

 Arizona. It does not seem to have been introduced into culti- 

 vation and its name is at present unknown to me, but if cer- 

 tain seedlings now in my possession mature, its identity 

 should soon be discovered. 



It would be futile-to describe all the attractive species 

 of the genus. A few bear yellow flowers but in the major- 

 ity thev are white, pink or blue, the blue perhaps predomin- 

 ating. There is an exceedingly beautiful species in parts of 

 Colorado which has pink buds and gentian blue flowers. It 

 is likel)^ that this may do well in cultivation if given a well- 

 drained soil. Most of the species are found on banks 

 where they are able to avoid standing water, though they 

 appear to like plenty of moisture while growing. 



Among the large-flowered species are Pcntstemon 

 grandiflorus and P. cobaea. The two are very much alike 

 but may be distinguished by the fact that in P. grandflorus 

 the leaves are smooth and entire, while in P. cobaea they 

 are serrate and minutely pubescent. The species of gardens 

 is usuallv regarded as P. grandiflorus but P. cobaea may 

 possibly be occasionally mistaken for it. Good specimens 

 of grandiflorus may reach a height of six feet, a size not at- 

 tained by P. cobaea. The flowers of both are two inches 

 or more long and not a little like canterbury bells in shape. 

 With intelligent cultivation the plants ought to be capable of 

 much improvement. The P. cobaea makes a fine garden 

 plant as it is seen from our illustration which was made 

 from a photopraph of plants in my garden. This species 



