Penstemon angustifolius var. caudatus
(Broadbeard Penstemon)
Penstemon angustifolis var. caudatus, Levsa Trail, Trinidad Lake State Park, Las Animas Co. 8513
Penstemon angustifolis var. caudatus, Levsa Trail, Trinidad Lake State Park, Las Animas Co. 8519
Penstemon angustifolis var. caudatus, Levsa Trail, Trinidad Lake State Park, Las Animas Co. 8525
| Scientific Name | Penstemon angustifolius var. caudatus | USDA PLANTS Symbol | PEANC |
| Common Name | Broadbeard Penstemon, Broadbeard Beardtongue | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 529460 |
| Family | Plantaginaceae (Plantain) formerly Scrophulariaceae | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Plains and foothills (3500 to 7000 ft); sandy or gravelly soils, shortgrass prairies, sagebrush shrublands. Plant: Perennial 8 to 24 inches tall with smooth, ascending to erect stems. Leaves: Basal and stem leaves, smooth, fleshy, gray-green with a waxy covering (glaucous) and entire margins; basal leaves absent by blooming, linear to oblanceolate, 2 to 3-1/2 inches long; 3 to 8 pairs of opposite, lanceolate to ovate leaves 1-5/8 to 3-1/2 inches long; sessile. Inflorescence: Four to nine clusters (whorls) of short-stalked flowers in the upper leaf axils; flowers are pink to lavender, sometimes with a bluish tint, have a flared, tubular corolla, 5/8 to 1-inch long with 2 upper lobes and 3 spreading lower lobes and are smooth externally; sterile stamen (staminode) with curved tip densely covered with short, golden hairs; 5 calyx lobes are ovate to lanceolate 4 to 8 mm long with pointed tips; leaf-like bracts between blossoms. Bloom Period: May and June. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, Montana Field Guide, Flora of North America and Wildflowers of New Mexico. |
BONAP Distribution Map
Map Color Key |
Colorado Status: Native |
© Tom Lebsack 2025
Banner photo: Castilleja rhexifolia and a brewing storm over the San Juan Mountains
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