Hairy Beardtongue

Hairy Beardtongue
Penstemon hirsutus

Ahhh, the last day of September, another month down, 3/4 of the way through. I think I've gathered enough pictures to finish out the year, but I've still got to process them and write some engaging commentary for each.

There are actually a lot of fall plants to shoot; asters, goldenrods, all sorts of prairie plants, fall foliage, etc, etc, etc. If I don't have enough now, there are still plenty of subjects out there.

So, how did this plant get such a name. The Hairy part comes from the fact that the stem and leaves are hairy. The Beardtongue part evokes memories of college party mornings-after, but that's not where the name comes from. The flower is bilateral and the stamens can be long and hairy and stick out of the open "mouth" of the flower, thus "Beardtongue". Now that's something to talk about at botanical parties!





The stem and leaves are hairy