A short-lived native of the coastal plains from Louisanna to southeast Virginia, it can be found flourishing in dry pinelands, thin upland woods, sandhills, and dry fallow fields. Each plant consists of one or more flowering stems formed from a rosette of leaves. Those leaves are smooth, rounded with a tapered base, and toothed. The upper stem leaves (Cauline) are lance-shaped (narrowing at both ends) with sparsely toothed margins. The flowers are tubular shaped and two-lipped. The upper lip is 2-lobed, the lower is 3-lobed. The blooms are pink to rose-purple on the outside and white with dark purple lines on the inside. The staminode (non-functional stamen) protrudes from the flower, similar to a tongue from an open mouth, giving rise to the common name 'beard tongue'. It is easy to grow in sandy, low nutrient, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Use in the native pollinator garden or rock garden. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: A short-lived perennial. More information on Penstemon .
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.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry | Very Dry
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 3 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Leaf color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite; Rosulate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblanceolate; Obovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Basal rosette of oblanceolate to obovate leaves 2-4 inches long and .5 to 1 inch wide. Stem leaves are often edged in red, serrated, clasping and lanceolate. 2-4 inches long. Surface with short hairs.
Flower color
Green; Pink; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Lipped; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The 1-inch flowers are deep rose in color on the outside and white on the inside. Clusters of flowers occur on multiple terminal stems. Flowers bloom from May to July.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Capsule containing several seeds July to August.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Single stemmed. Not branched above the base.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
SE USA
Wildlife value
Members of the genus Penstemon support the following specialized bee: Osmia (Melanosmia) distincta. Attracts bees and humming birds.
Attracts
Butterflies; Hummingbirds; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Specialized Bees