There are a great many kinds of Pentstemon and some of our handsomest
and most conspicuous western flowers are included among them. They are
natives of North America, chiefly herbs, sometimes branching below; the
leaves usually opposite, the upper ones without leaf-stalks and more or
less clasping; the flowers showy, in long clusters; the calyx with five
lobes; the corolla two-lipped, with a more or less swollen tube, the
upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft and spreading; the stamens
four, in pairs, and also a fifth stamen, which is merely a filament
without any anther, but is conspicuous and often hairy; the style
threadlike, with a round-top stigma; the pod usually pointed; the seeds
numerous. The common name, Beard-tongue, is in allusion to the usually
hairy tip of the sterile filament. Pentstemon is from the Greek meaning
five stamens. This name is often mispronounced; the accent should be on
the second syllable and long.
[Sidenote: =Large Beard-tongue=
_Pentstèmon glandulòsus_
=Lilac, purple
Summer
Oreg., Wash., Idaho=]
An exceedingly handsome plant, a foot and a half tall, with a stout
reddish stem, rather downy and sticky, and dark green leaves, rather
shiny and stiff, and downy on the under side. The flowers are an inch
and a half long, so large that they look like Fox-glove, and are
beautifully shaded from pale lilac to deep reddish-purple, with purple
filaments and white anthers and pistil. The calyx is reddish, sticky
and downy, and the outside of the corolla glistens with sticky fuzz.
This grows in the mountains.
[Sidenote: =Pentstemon=
_Pentstèmon Rattáni var. mìnor_
=Blue
Summer
Utah, Oreg., Cal.=]
This forms pretty clumps of bright color, with several stems about
eight inches tall, smooth below, and smooth dark green leaves. The
flowers are less than half an inch long, with a downy calyx and bright
purplish-blue corolla, with a purplish throat. This grows in mountain
canyons.
[Illustration: Penstemon--P. Rattani var. minor.