From our walk this morning 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment