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Beard-Tongue

Pentstemon pubescens. Figwort Family.

Stem.--One or two feet high; clammy above. Leaves.-Opposite; oblong to lance-shaped. Flowers.--Dull purple or partly whitish; showy; in a slender open cluster. Calyx.--Five-parted. Corolla.--Tubular; slightly dilated; the throat nearly closed by a bearded palate; two-lipped; the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.--Four; one densely bearded sterile filament besides. Pistil.--One.

These pretty flowers, giving in the distance a somewhat hyacinth-like effect, are found in summer in dry or rocky places. They are especially plentiful somewhat southward.

The white beard-tongue of more western localities is P. Digitalis. This is a very effective plant, which sometimes reaches a height of five feet, having large inflated white flowers.