North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Penstemon smallii

Penstemon smallii A. Heller

small’s beardtongue, blue ridge beardtongue

Image ID: 24066
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: PESM
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Penstemon smallii
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-09-23

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: PENST
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Penstemon
GENUS AUTHORITY: Schmidel
GENUS COMMON: Beardtongue
GENUS SUMMARY: [contributed by Alan S. Weakley and Dwayne Estes]
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Estes (2012)=Y; Clements, Baskin, & Baskin (1998)=Z; Pennell (1935)=P. Key based on Y and Z.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: PLANTA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Plantaginaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Plantain Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: As radically recircumscribed, a family of about 120 genera and 1800 species.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Albach, Meudt, & Oxelman (2005); Olmstead et al. (2001); Schwarzbach in Kadereit (2004); Fischer in Kadereit (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 18-24 in.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-Jun

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
		x						x

FRUITING PERIOD: Jul.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: NC, SC, TN & GA

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Small's Beardtongue produces numerous late spring flowers held above the attractive foliage. Pink blooms and reddish basal foliage make this the most dramatic of the eastern beardtongues. It can be cut back to encourage a second bloom. Small's Beardtongue makes an excellent cut flower. In the wild, Small's Beardtongue is seen growing on woodland cliffs and banks. Planting it on a slope helps provide good drainage and encourages light self-sowing. 1984 N.C. Wildflower of the Year

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Well-drained
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 6
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
2105	1986-1907			View
2431	1986-2272			View
2659	1987-0111			View
7614	2000-0377	2000-11-20		View
9136	2006-0409	2006-11-07	1309	View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
1264	HORT	2005-08-16	Bryan	View
1309	HORT	2006-01-01	Bryan	View
1370	HORT	2006-08-01	Bryan	View
1540	HORT	2005-03-08	Bryan	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
3516	2105	79	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3517	2105	187	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4136	2431	27	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4137	2431	9	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4453	2659	9	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10758	7614	146	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10759	7614	11	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
10760	7614	79	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
10761	7614	8	NCBG staff	1980-01-28	View
10762	7614	8	NCBG staff	1996-03-28	View
10763	7614	142	Liloia	2002-05-23	View
10764	7614	205	NCBG staff	2005-04-01	View
11940	9136	133	NCBG staff	2006-10-31	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: PESM
USDA Common Name: Small's Beardtongue
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, GA, NC, SC, TN)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Penstemon smallii
COMMON NAME: Blue Ridge Beardtongue
SYNONYMY: [= K, P, RAB, S, W, Y, Z]
PHENOLOGY: May-Jun; Jul.
HABITAT: Woodlands, cliffs, glades, roadbanks.
COMMENTS: A Southern Appalachian endemic, distributed from nw. NC and ne. TN south to nw. SC, n. GA, and n. AL.
RANGE MAP: Penstemon smallii.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Plantaginaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Plantain Family)
SUMMARY: As radically recircumscribed, a family of about 120 genera and 1800 species.
REFERENCE: Albach, Meudt, & Oxelman (2005); Olmstead et al. (2001); Schwarzbach in Kadereit (2004); Fischer in Kadereit (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Penstemon Schmidel (Beardtongue)
SUMMARY: [contributed by Alan S. Weakley and Dwayne Estes]
REFERENCE: Estes (2012)=Y; Clements, Baskin, & Baskin (1998)=Z; Pennell (1935)=P. Key based on Y and Z.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Penstemon smallii in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Penstemon smallii in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Penstemon smallii in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Penstemon smallii in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Penstemon smallii in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Penstemon smallii

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 24066 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 24066 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 24086 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)