Scarlet Bugler is one of the most widespread and hummingbird-adapted penstemons of the Rocky Mountain region, sending up tall, open racemes of brilliant red tubular flowers from June through September. Its flowers have evolved a nearly bilateral symmetry that positions visiting hummingbirds to pick up and deposit pollen on their foreheads. It grows across a broad elevation range from desert grasslands to subalpine meadows. The extended bloom season makes it one of the most important summer nectar sources for rufous hummingbirds migrating south through the Rockies.
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