Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Common name: upright blue penstemon, wandbloom penstemon, beardless sidebells penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain)

Distribution: New Mexico, Arizona Colorado, Wyoming

Habitat: Montane grasslands, plains, forests clearings, roadsides

Hardiness: USDA Zone 5 (-20 to -10 °F)

Life form: Herbaceous perennial

Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant

Growing Conditions: Penstemon virgatus is native to New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming. It grows in meadows, oak woodlands, pine forests, and along roadsides, at elevations from 5,000-11,000 feet. Two subspecies grow in the mountains of New Mexico: subsp. virgatus and less commonly, subsp. asa-grayii. It is typically found in sandy to gravelly soils. This middle to upper elevation plant often grows in moist meadows and likely appreciates a bit more moisture than other penstemon species. Excessive moisture should be avoided, particularly in winter.

Description: Upright blue penstemon is a somewhat variable species, which produces up to 7 upright stems 1-3 feet tall from a woody base. The leaves are paired along the stems, grayish-green, usually narrowly lance-shaped and somewhat long. There is sometimes a basal cluster of leaves. The showy flowers are arranged on one side of the stems (secund). The flower is tubular, asymmetrically inflated, may be white, pink, blue or purple, and with deep purple guidelines on the inside of the tube. The flower is smooth on the outside and with a few hairs on the inside. The 2 lobes of the upper lip are arched or extended, and the 3 lobes of the lower lip curve outward or downward. All the stamens are white and curve inward. The stamens have widely diverging sacs that are fully open across the connective where they are joined, but are not flat (explanate). The staminode is straight, without hairs, may be somewhat dilated, and does not extend beyond the mouth of the flower.