Penstemon grandiflorus - (image 1 of 6)
Taxonomy
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Habitat
Dry prairies and barrens.
Associates
Distribution
WI to ND and WY, south to IL, northwest MO, and TX. Escaped from cultivation in MI, northwest IN, southwest OH and parts of New England.
Morphology
Biennial or short-lived perennial, glabrous and glaucous throughout, to 2 m; leaves entire, the lower obovate-oblong, 2-4 cm wide, the upper becoming shorter but not much narrower, more broadly ovate to rotund, subcordate and somewhat clasping; bracteal leaves similar but smaller; flowers 2-4 per axil, short-pedicelate in a racemiform inflorescence 15-30 cm long; calyx at anthesis 7-11 mm; corollas 3.5-5 cm, pale pink-purple outside, glabrous throughout, widely dilated; fruit 1.5-2 cm; seeds 2.5-4 mm.
Notes
Flowers May to June.
Wetland indicator: NA
Mostly a western species that only occurs naturally as far east as northeast IL. Penstemon cobaea Nutt. is a similarly large-flowered species that has pubescent stems, is glandular-hairy in the inflorescence, and with leaves that are often toothed rather than entire; it only occurs naturally as far east as MO and AR, though it has escaped from cultivation in IL and OH.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Michael Hough © 2018 |