[Beardtongues and Penstemons: The Genus Penstemon East of the Cascade
Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Lovely Penstemon, Beautiful Penstemon, Blue Mountain Penstemon, Elegant Beardtongue, Elegant Penstemon, Venus Penstemon
Penstemon venustus
Lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area........June 28, 2007. Note the long white hairs on the filaments
below the horseshoe-shaped anthers.
The photo at right shows
a close-up of the flower of lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.........June 28, 2007.
Characteristics:
Lovely penstemon is a tall, often many stemmed perennial wildflower.
Its flowering stems are often up to 80 cm tall. The leaves
are all found on the stems. They are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate in shape,
tapering to a point. The leaves are sometimes entire, but more often serrate
(See photo below.). The teeth may have soft, fine hairs at the tips The leaves
are sessile (no stem) and glabrous (not haired).
The inflorescence is a raceme-panicle, often with all the flowers
turned to one side. The corolla is violet to lavender or purple and measures
up to 4 cm in length. The corolla is definitely two-lipped. A distinctive trait
is that the filaments are pubescent just below the horse-shoe shaped anthers.
The staminode is flattened and expanded at the tip with a tuft of long, white
hairs. (See closeup photos.)
Habitat:
Lovely penstemon is found in talus or rocky outcrops from the
foothills to moderate elevation in the mountains.
Range:
Lovely penstemon is found from southwest Washington south into
northeastern Oregon, and eastward into the adjacent, western portions of Idaho.
I feel this penstemon would make a nice wildflower for rock gardens,
given adequate space. I now have several individuals in several locations in my
gardens. So far, they have survived for about 15 years, although they are in somewhat shady locations
and so are a bit tall and gangly. I cover them with plastic draped over pvc tubing for about 4 months over the winter. The best individual flowered much of the summer.
A view of a fully grown Lovely Penstemon
Photographed on the Frances Lake Trail, Wallowa-Whitman N.F........late July,
1997.
Another view of a fully grown Lovely
Penstemon Photographed on Oregon Highway 3, descending to the Grande Ronde
River from the south......Late June, 1998.
Lovely penstemon growing on a steep slope along the Umatilla Rim Trail on the northwest tip of High Ridge, Umatilla National Forest.........July 24, 2012.
The photo above shows a mass of lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.........June 28, 2007.
The photo above shows a close-up of a stem leaf of the lovely penstemon. Note the serrate margins to the leaves.
Lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon NRA...........June 28, 2007.
Lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area..........June 28, 2007. Note the long white hairs on the filaments below the horseshoe-shaped anthers. The tip of the flattened staminode with its cluster of long, spreading white hairs extends just past the lower lip of the flower.
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Lovely penstemon blooming along Forest Road #39 several miles south of the junction with FS Road #3965, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.......June 11, 2018.
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The photo at left shows a close-up of the inflorescence of lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area..........June 28, 2007. Note the long white hairs on the filaments below the horseshoe-shaped anthers. The photo at right shows the inflorescence of lovely penstemon as seen along the Lick Creek Trail #231, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.....August 11, 2018.
Lovely penstemon as seen about five miles up Hat Pt. Road in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.........June 28, 2007. Note the long white hairs on the filaments below the horseshoe-shaped anthers.
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Masses of lovely penstemon blooming along Forest Road 3915-015 about a mile or so downhill from the Lick Creek Trailhead, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.......July 20, 2019.
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Lovely penstemon blooming on balds along the Lick Creek Trail #1809, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area......July 17, 2019.
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Lovely penstemon observed on a road cut along Forest Road 41 several miles downhill to the east of the junction with FS Road 4206, Umatilla National Forest.....June 17, 2023.
Lovely penstemon blooming along Washington Highway 129 along roadcuts about 2 miles west of Fields Springs State Park, Asotin County, Washington...........June 11, 2013.
Paul Slichter
