Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus): purple Minnesota wildflowers

Large Beardtongue

Plant Info
Also known as:	Large-flowered Beardtongue, Large-flowered Penstemon
Scientific name:	Penstemon grandiflorus
Family:	Figwort (Scrophulariaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; dry prairies, sandy soil
Bloom season:	late spring, early summer
Plant height:	12 to 40 inches
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor

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Flower:: Flowers are up to 2 inches long, tubular and slightly flattened. The upper lip of the tube is divided into 2 round lobes and is slightly shorter than the lower lip. The wide lower lip has 3 equally sized round lobes. Color is lavender to pink, with purple lines on the inside of the lower lip and a yellow-tipped white style that protrudes some from the center of the tube. Up to 6 flowers are whorled around the stem at the leaf joints in the upper part of the plant, each flower on a short stem.
Leaves and stem:: Leaves look waxy, are bluish-green and generally oval or egg-shaped with a blunt point or rounded tip, about 3 inches long, up to 2 inches wide and tend to point up. Attachment is opposite; the lower leaves have no leaf stem and become more clasping and smaller as they ascend the stem. Leaf edges can curl up some. The main stem is smooth, thick and round, light green or reddish in color.
Fruit:: Seed head is a teardrop shaped capsule ½ to 1 inch long with the style forming a “tail” at the top. Each contains numerous seeds.