WHITE BEARDTONGUE
File Size: 105 KB
 
Penstemon albidus  Nutt.
Smoky Valley Ranch, Logan County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 4-20 inches
Family: Scrophulariaceae - Figwort Family
Flowering Period:   May, June, July
Also Called: White penstemon.
Stems: Erect or ascending, 1-5, unbranched, short-hairy below, glandular-hairy above.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, stalked below, sessile and clasping above, lanceolate to oblong or obovate, 1 to 4 inches long, 1/4 to 3/4 inch wide, nearly glabrous or finely-hairy to rough; margins entire to toothed; tips blunt to pointed.
Inflorescences: Panicles, narrow, 1.5 to 12 inches long, sometimes interrupted, with 2-10 whorl-like clusters of 2-7 flowers.
Flowers: Calyces 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate, glandular-hairy; corollas funnel-shaped, less than 3/4 inch long, white to occasionally pale pink or lavender, weakly 2-lipped, upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed, glandular-hairy externally; throat with reddish purple lines; stamens 5, 4 fertile, 1 sterile with short yellowish hairs.
Fruits: Capsules, egg-shaped, about 1/2 inch long, woody; seeds numerous, angular, dark.
Habitat: Open prairies and hillsides, on sandy or gravelly soils.
Distribution: West 1/2 of Kansas.
Comments: The name "beardtongue" refers to the bearded sterile stamen found in the throat of the flower. White beardtongue is the most common penstemon in Kansas.

White beardtongue flowers
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Smoky Valley Ranch, Logan County, Kansas
White beardtongue inflorescence
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Smoky Valley Ranch, Logan County, Kansas
White beardtongue
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Smoky Valley Ranch, Logan County, Kansas
White beardtongue
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Clark County, Kansas
White beardtongue
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Jewell County, Kansas
White beardtongue fruit
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Cimarron National Grassland, Morton County, Kansas
White beardtongue inflorescence
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Scott County, Kansas
White beardtongue flowers
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Scott County, Kansas
White beardtongue leaves
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Scott County, Kansas