Distribution: Widely distributed east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.

Habitat: Shrub-steppe, often with sagebrush, and in ponderosa pine forest openings.

Flowers: April-June

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Butterflies, moths

Perennial from a woody taproot, 1.5-4 dm. tall, shrubby at the base and usually glandular above.

Leaves opposite, linear to broadly lanceolate, up to 7 cm. long and 1 cm. wide.

Inflorescence a loose, few-flowered cluster, leafy-bracteate at least below; calyx with nearly flat, translucent intervals between the herbaceous segments, 5 lobed; corolla pink to white, the tube 1-1.5 cm. long, scarcely surpassing the calyx, the 5 lobes 1-1.5 cm. long, usually notched at the tip; style very short, 0.5-2 mm. long, often shorter than the 3 linear stigmas; ovary superior.

Capsule 3-celled, with one seed in each cell.

The very short style separates P. speciosa from the similar P. longifolia, whose style is at least 5 mm. long; also, P. speciosa usually has notched petals, P. longifolia usually doesn\'t.