Beardtongue

From our walk the other day there is this - one of the first species to make an appearance in very large quantities.  

Acres and acres of this blooming beauty - smooth penstemon - Penstemon digitalis.  

This flower materializes quite suddenly (seemingly out of nowhere) during late spring or early summer for about a month and then it’s gone.  A showy member of the snapdragon family and native to the prairie it is commonly called beardtongue or foxglove.  

Native Americans and folk-healers have made use of this plant for medicinal purposes for both people and animals.  Long-tongued bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, butterflies, Sphinx moths, and hummingbirds favor this plant.  

The name beardtongue is a consequence of the hairy reproductive parts found within the flower.