Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides is a dryland pink or violet, perennial Wallflower. It is found on dry rocky hills and ridges in CA, OR, WA, NV, ID and UT. It grows as a mound up to a foot across and about ten inches tall. The gray lance-shaped leaves are four to six inches long, with a short, soft covering of forked hairs. The flower racemes stand vertical to about ten to twelve inches. The seed pods when ripe stand horizontal to the flower stems, giving it it's common name of Dagger Pod.
It is, in my opinion, a strikingly beautiful sight, when seen in full flower against a rock face. I feel this would make a fine addition to a dry garden or sandbed.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHCH
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=6448
http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/4petal/must/phoenicaulis/d...
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?ID=1029
