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Glite Dictionary
Parry's penstemon

Parry's penstemon

9.9
A plant with upright stems and pink-lavender flowers in long clusters, native to Arizona
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : penstemon de Parry
  • In spring, the desert comes alive with the blooms of Parry's penstemon.

Examples

  • Gardeners in Arizona often plant Parry's penstemon to attract hummingbirds and bees.

  • The park ranger pointed out a patch of Parry's penstemon along the hiking trail.

  • Look at that Parry's penstemon!

  • I saw a beautiful Parry's penstemon blooming in the garden.

  • Gardeners in Arizona often plant Parry's penstemon to attract hummingbirds and bees.

  • In spring, the desert comes alive with the blooms of Parry's penstemon.

  • The park ranger pointed out a patch of Parry's penstemon along the hiking trail.

Synonyms

Penstemon parryi
vsParry's penstemon
  • Specialized
9.9

A desert flowering plant with tall stems and pink-lavender flowers that grows in Arizona

focuses on flowers arranged in long interrupted clusters as an identifying detail

Surface Forms

Parry's penstemon singular
Parry's penstemons plural

Morphology

Parry's + Penstemon

This is a possessive proper-name + noun construction: 'Parry's' indicates association/possession and 'penstemon' names a genus of plant, so the compound denotes a type/species of penstemon associated with Parry. The naming pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents (including the possessive use of the proper name) would be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Parry's penstemon is named for the plant collector Parry's and the word penstemon, which means 'bearded tongue' because the flower has a hairy part that looks like a tiny tongue. So the name helps you remember both who found the plant and a clear picture of the flower.