Penstemon deustus

9.9

A plant from western North America that lives for many years with cream flowers and clumping stems

noun

Specialized

: Penstemon deustus

The cream-colored blooms of Penstemon deustus attract many species of pollinators throughout the summer.

Examples

Penstemon deustus thrives in dry, rocky soils and is favored in native plant gardens.
Botanists discovered a new population of Penstemon deustus in northern California.
The Penstemon deustus blooms beautifully in the spring.
Many gardeners love the Penstemon deustus for its hardiness.
The cream-colored blooms of Penstemon deustus attract many species of pollinators throughout the summer.
Botanists discovered a new population of Penstemon deustus in northern California.
Penstemon deustus thrives in dry, rocky soils and is favored in native plant gardens.

Synonyms

hot-rock penstemon

vsPenstemon deustus

9.9

A plant with cream colored flowers that grows in rocky soil in the western United States

is native to a slightly narrower area not extending into Wyoming

Surface Forms

Penstemon deustus singular

Penstemon deustuses plural

Morphology

Penstemon + deustus

This is a Latin binomial (scientific) name where the second element is a taxonomic epithet rather than a compositional English word; even if a learner knows 'Penstemon' as a plant genus, 'deustus' is not a transparent English morpheme and the specific properties (cream flowers, range, perennial habit) are not derivable. Scientific names act as arbitrary labels across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not be able to infer the full meaning.

Etymology

Penstemon deustus comes from its parts: Penstemon is built from old words meaning 'five' and 'stamen' (the flower's five inner parts), and deustus is Latin for 'burnt' because the flower often has a dark, scorched-looking throat. So the name paints a picture of a 'beardtongue' flower with a burnt-looking centre.