Murray’s pentstemon is quite similar to two red-flowered pentstemons of the mountains of West Texas. These two are likewise tall, vigorous plants and have showy clusters of flowers. Torrey’s pentstemon (_Pentstemon barbatus torreyi_) has narrow pointed leaves, and the superb pentstemon (_Pentstemon superbus_) has broad oblong leaves. The common blue-flowered pentstemon in West Texas is _Pentstemon fendleri_, with leaves nearly as broad as long.
Leaves opposite, mostly compound; flowers showy, often 2-lipped; calyx tubular, 5-lobed; petals 5, united; stamens 4 or 2, in pairs on corolla-tube; capsules often long, with winged seeds.
Desert Willow (_Chilopsis linearis_), also called flowering willow, willow-leaved catalpa, and “mimbre,” is a common shrub along water courses from West Texas to Southern California and Northern Mexico. When it is not in flower or fruit, it may be mistaken for the black willow (_Salix nigra_), which has similar leaves. The delicate, lavender, trumpet-shaped flowers are about two inches long. White and pale-lavender forms occur. It is a shrub or small tree frequently cultivated for ornament in Texas and California. It blooms from May through the summer months. Mexicans use the wood for fence-posts and the branches for baskets. A tea made from the flowers is used as a remedy for heart and lung diseases.
Several other members of this family are native to the state and are well-known in cultivation. Among these are the red-flowered trumpet-creeper (_Campsis radicans_), the yellow-red cross-vine (_Bignonia capreolata_), the catalpa found in East Texas woods, and the yellow-elder (_Tecoma stans_) in South Texas and the mountains of West Texas.
Leaves opposite; calyx 4-5-lobed; sepals 5; petals 5, united, sometimes 2-lipped; stamens on tube, 2 or 4 in 2 pairs; fruit a capsule, often club-shaped, opening elastically.
Flame Acanthus (_Anisacanthus wrightii_) is covered with scarlet flowers from early summer until frost. It is a low, widely branched shrub, about 2 feet high, found in rocky soil of the mountains of West Texas. The corollas have a narrow tube and five narrow, spreading lobes which are nearly equal but somewhat 2-lipped. The two stamens and the style extend beyond the corolla. The small leaves are ovate-lanceolate in shape and are 1-2 inches long.