Penstemon is a genus of herbaceous perennial wildflowers containing 281 species of dramatically beautiful, tall, slender plants in the plantain family. It is the largest genus of flowering plants native to North America. Species vary widely in size (1 inch to 9 feet), habit (mat, shrub, herbaceous perennial), leaf shape (entire, toothed, broad to narrow), and flower color (purple, yellow, white, and rarely red). A common distinguishing feature is the corolla; five petals in the shape of an open tube containing two pairs of fertile stamen and a fifth sterile stamen. The genus name Penstemon comes from the Latin word for "almost" or "nearly" and the Greek stemon meaning "stamen" referring to the sterile stamen common to members of this genus. Penstemon plants tend to do best sited in full sun and well-drained soil. In general, propagation is by seed sown in late summer. Cuttings can be taken in summer, or groups of plants can be divided. Wildlife Value: Seeds attract songbirds. Members of the genus Penstemon are good nectar plants and support the specialized bee Osmia (Melanosmia) distincta.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.