Penstemon australis Small

Southern Beardtongue; Sandhill Beardtongue; Eustis Lake Beardtongue

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Southern Beardtongue is a native short-lived perennial in the Plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It can be found throughout most of Alabama. Southern Beardtongue occurs in sandhills, on old dunes, on roadside banks, and in other dry, sandy areas. It is a perennial with a tap root. Plants consist of 1 or more upright flowering stems from a basal rosette of leaves. The basal rosette leaves are oblanceolate to obovate in outline, glabrous to pubescent, with entire or sparsely dentate (toothed) margins. Cauline (stem) leaves are opposite, narrowly lanceolate in outline, with entire or sparsely toothed margins. Stems are typically densely glandular pubescent, especially within the inflorescence. Flowers are produced in a terminal thyrse. The corolla is tubular, inflated, and two lipped. The upper lip is 2-lobed and the lower lip is three-lobed. The corolla is pink to rose-purple in color on the outside and white with dark purple lines on the inside. The prominent staminode (non-functional stamen) is densely pubescent with golden yellow hairs. The staminode protrudes from the opening of the corolla like a tongue from an open mouth, giving these plants their common name of “beard tongue”. The fruit is a capsule. Southern Beardtongue is occasionally available as plants or seed from native plant nurseries. Plants flourish in dry, nutrient poor, sandy soils in full sun. As the plants are generally short-lived, a few seed should be planted each year to assure a constant supply of flowering plants.--A. Diamond

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Native FAC- (NWPL)

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