Firecracker Beardtongue (Penstemon eatonii)
- Other Names: None
- Family: Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae)
- Season: May-July
- Color: Red
- Habitat: Arid foothills
- Status: Native
This scarlet tubular flower is a favorite food for hummingbirds. Its flowers hang in elongated clusters of dozens of flowers. It is 18 inches to 3 feet tall. It is found in Camel’s Back Park.
Hairy Wild-cabbage (Caulanthus pilosus)
- Other Names: Chocolate drops
- Family: Mustard family (Brassicaceae)
- Season: April-July
- Color: Reddish purple to reddish brown
- Habitat: Open, dry habitat; sagebrush
- Status: Native
Hairy wild-cabbage has elongated clusters of urn-shaped flowers along erect stems. The flowers are covered with thick sepals of reddish-purple. The flowers themselves are small (0.3-0.6 inch) and lighter in color. Each flower has four wavy petals and six yellow anthers. The leaves are hairy, linear, and deeply lobed. The fruit (siliques) curve upwards. Hairy wild-cabbage is found in Hulls Gulch.
Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
Other Names: Small burnet
Family: Rose family (Rosaceae)
Season: May-August
Color: Red
Habitat: Open fields
Status: Non-native
Salad burnet is a non-native species introduced from Eurasia. The four-petaled flowers grow in dense ball-like clusters atop reddish stems. The leaves feature 7-9 serrated oval leaflets; young leaves are edible. The plants range from 6-18 inches tall. Salad burnet can be found in Lower Hull’s Gulch.
Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)
- Other Names: Skyrocket, scarlet trumpet
- Family: Phlox family (Polemoniaceae)
- Season: May-August
- Color: Red
- Habitat: Dry slopes
- Status: Native
Scarlet gilia has an elongated cluster of 15-30 trumpet-shaped flowers along a single stem. It is pollinated by hummingbirds and moths. Its fern-like leaves grow low to the ground. It can be anywhere from 6 inches to several feet high. It is found in Hulls Gulch.
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