Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

WHITE BEARDTONGUE

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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