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

Habitat: Sagebrush desert to ponderosa pine forest openings, from low to middle elevations in the mountains.

Flowers: April-June

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Butterflies, moths

Perennial from a taproot that is often branched below the surface, the stems 1-4 dm. tall, often woody at the base, glabrous to glandular or hairy.

Leaves opposite, linear, 1.5-8 cm. long and 1-2.5 mm. wide, widely spaced along the stem.

Inflorescence a loose, few-flowered cluster, leafy-bracteate, fragrant, with slender pedicels; calyx with keeled, translucent intervals between the herbaceous segments, 5 lobed; corolla pink to white, the tube 10-18 mm. long, up to twice as long as the calyx, the 5 lobes 7-15 mm. long, obovate; filaments attached above the middle of the corolla tube; style elongate, 6-15 mm. long, 3-parted at the tip; ovary superior.

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

The long style separates P. longifolia from the similar P. speciosa, which has a very short style, not over 2 mm.