Penstemon nitidus (Smooth Blue Beardtongue) - photos and description
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Stem leaf in above photo
Basal leaf in above photo
General: Plants ascending to erect, stout stemmed, glaucous, glabrous. Spring bloomer.
Flowers: Flowers very showy in a long raceme, tube-shaped, two-lipped, the lower lip three-lobed, the upper lip two-lobed. Flower colour ranges from pink to purple-blue to sky-blue. We measured flowers at 1 cm diameter and 2 cm long.
Leaves: Stem leaves are opposite, sessile, oblong to ovate, measured at 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Basal leaves are oblanceolate, have petioles, we measured a basal leaf to 9 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 30 cm. I measured plants in the above photos to 20 cm tall.
Habitat: Dry prairie hills, clay badlands, eroded sites in southern Saskatchewan.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: Photos taken May 5th and May 13th, on steep slopes of the Qu'Appelle River Valley, 30 km north of our home in Regina, SK, May 15th Claybank badlands about 80 km south of Regina, SK, and May 20th, May 23rd in the Cypress Hills 450 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.