Last summer my fiancé brought a plant home from a native plant nursery that I’d never seen or heard of before. It was foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis). After my walk at the southern portion of Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth this weekend, I’m not sure how it’s possible for me to have missed this amazingly beautiful and abundant native perennial wildflower. In some places, this foxglove beardtongue dominated the meadow with its panicles of white flowers. 

These panicles are comprised of bell-like, two-lipped flowers. Each flower is narrow at its base, but expands at the middle. The upper lip is smaller with two lobes, while the lower lip is more spreading and has 3 lobes. As its genus name suggests, foxglove beardtongue have five stamens (pente = five and stemon = stamen). You can see the four fertile stamens curled along the top of the inside of the flower with dark purple anthers at their ends. The fifth stamen, however, is hairy and sterile; it lies along the bottom of the inside of the flower and gives the flower its “beardtongue” name. In addition to unique flower structures, another helpful identification feature for foxglove beardtongue is its leaves. It has long, pointed opposite leaves that almost clasp the stem at their base. 

So, if you’re like I was, and have never had the chance to observe these beautiful plants, now is the time to find them as they are in full bloom now through the end of June. They can be found in fields, meadows, sunny woodlands or along roadsides and grows to a height between two and five feet tall.