About

Penstemon haydenii, the blowout penstemon or blowout beardtongue, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Penstemon and the family Plantaginaceae. The warm-season perennial is native to nine counties in the Nebraska Sand Hills and a single location in Carbon County, Wyoming. The plant has a milky blue color with a waxy cuticle, pale purple leaves, and an alternating leaf pattern with one central stalk. The flowers, while in the inflorescence stage, originate from the bases of the leaves of the plant. Blowout penstemon flowers from May until early June and drops its seeds from late August into September.

P. haydenii grows on bare sand dunes. It is resistant to the abrasive forces of the blowing sands due to its incorporation of a protective thick waxy cuticle. Other plants are often cut down by the scouring sands as they sprout.

Where it grows

Blowout penstemon was only known from the Sandhills of western Nebraska until the recent discovery of limited populations in Wyoming. It is found exclusively in sandy locations with little to no vegetation present, such as blowouts, hence its name. Due to the uncompetitive nature of the plant it is easily outcompeted by other plants in the succession scheme. The ever-shifting sandy soils of the Sandhills provide blowout penstemon with an ideal environment, since there is little to no competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight. The plant colonises such areas as a pioneer species and thus promotes ecological succession.

Other Penstemon plants

Firleaf beardtongue · Stemless beardtongue · Sharpleaf penstemon · Los Alamos beardtongue · Alberta beardtongue · White penstemon · White River Beardtongue · Whitemargin beardtongue · Gilia beardtongue · Penstemon angelicus · Siskiyou beardtongue · Broadbeard beardtongue