drought tolerant

  • Opuntia fragilis / brittle pricklypear

    Opuntia fragilis / brittle pricklypear

    • smallest pricklypear cactus; potato-shaped pads
    • pads separate with lightest bump
    • seldom flowers or fruits
  • Opuntia polyacantha / starvation cactus

    Opuntia polyacantha / starvation cactus

    • yellow or peach, complex, many-petaled flowers
    • large globose, pointed buds with reddish scales
    • cactus pads with long or short spines and nasty glochids
  • Oxytropis sericea / white-point vetch

    Oxytropis sericea / white-point vetch

    • white "pea" flowers in clusters of up to 25
    • banner petal white with purple/blue veins
    • hairy, pinnately compound leaves, all basal
    • disturbed areas, especially exposed to cold, drought, high light etc.
    • pretty, but toxic to grazing animals
  • Packera cana / woolly groundsel

    Packera cana / woolly groundsel

    • yellow, daisy-like blossoms with 8-13 ray florets ("petals")
    • golden, central disks
    • blossoms in flat-topped clusters of up to 15
    • mostly basal leaves - unlobed, hairy, ovate, up to 2 inches long
    • overall silvery appearance
  • Packera multilobata / lobeleaf groundsel

    Packera multilobata / lobeleaf groundsel

    • deeply lobed leaves, mostly at the base of the plant
    • bright yellow daisy-like flowers, 10-30 in a cluster per plant
    • orange-yellow disk florets
    • woodlands, foothills, and generally dry/ sandy/ rocky places.
  • Paxistima myrsinites / Oregon boxwood

    Paxistima myrsinites / Oregon boxwood

    • low shrub
    • small, opposite leaves; lightly toothed, leathery, oval
    • very early spring flowering
    • teeny flowers with 4 red petals, 4 yellow stamens; in clusters
    • usually on open, dry, sunny sites or open forests
  • Pedicularis contorta / curved-beak lousewort

    Pedicularis contorta / curved-beak lousewort

    • alpine and subalpine habitats
    • fern-like leaves at base
    • tall, spikey inflorescence
    • white flowers with coiled upper beak and flat, 3-lobed lower lip
  • Penstemon eatonii / firecracker penstemon

    Penstemon eatonii / firecracker penstemon

    • roadsides, especially revegetated by DOT
    • 2" brilliantly red, tubular flowers
    • mostly basal leaves, ovate to lanceolate, leathery
  • Penstemon palmeri / Palmer's penstemon

    Penstemon palmeri / Palmer’s penstemon

    • very tall, exposed
    • pink flowers with rose/grape scent
    • flowers clumped on one side of stem in groups of 4-5
    • red "guidelines" (bloody fangs) on lower petals
    • stem leaves opposite, clasping, like little boats
  • Penstemon procerus / littleflower penstemon

    Penstemon procerus / littleflower penstemon

    • low growing in exposed, undisturbed habitats
    • tight cluster/whorls of small purple/blue/pink flowers
    • tubular flowers, with lips around opening
  • Phacelia hastata / silverleaf scorpionweed

    Phacelia hastata / silverleaf scorpionweed

    • flowers - dull white-ish/purple-ish, numerous in short, compact, coiled clusters
    • stamens extend well past petals
    • leaves - basal with prominent veins; usually covered with silvery hairs; usually entire
    • multiple flowering stems on a single plant
    • in a variety of habitats
  • Phacelia sericea / silky phacelia

    Phacelia sericea / silky phacelia

    • deep purple flowers with really long stamens and orange anthers
    • many flowers arranged in a tight coil up to 2 feet long
    • silky, divided (fern-like) leaves
    • exposed, higher altitude, rocky places; often with sagebrush