Penstemon procerus / littleflower penstemon

Adjectives: drought tolerant, early spring, forest openings, LSRP, native, rocky, showy

See also: Penstemon cyaneus / blue penstemon; Penstemon rydbergii / Rydberg’s penstemon

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Littleflower penstemon is an herbaceous perennial with several named forms.. meaning it is “variable”, or the subject of discussion among penstemon-types. To be fair, the variability can also be blamed on the wide geographic distribution of the species.

Flowering in early to mid-summer, the essential characteristic in all forms is the spherical whorl of flowers clustered tightly at the end of the stem. The individual flowers are tubular, with lipped or lobed mouths, and purple to blue, often with a white throat. Each flower is little (hence the name), perhaps ¾ inch long at most. Although the throat may be lined inside with white or yellow hairs, the plant as a whole is basically hairless.

Littleflower penstemon plants grow up to, perhaps, a foot tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval, and plentiful around the plant base (see gallery photo).

Besides having a wide distribution, littleflower penstemon grows in a wide variety of habitats, especially mountainous ones, e.g. dry meadows, sandy banks, gravelly ridges, open rocky slopes or grassy hillsides. In forested areas, it grows in larger gaps. It grows well in sun with little water. The “only” thing it doesn’t like is recent or on-going disturbance. But even being widespread, it’s doubtful you’ll find it in large numbers anywhere.