06/01/2026
✨Species Spotlight! Large beardtongue, AKA Shell-leaf Penstemon.
This perennial is native to the Midwest and Great Plains ranging from Montana to Texas. While it is not too common to see in the wild, you will commonly find it in conservation and pollinator seed mixes due to its benefit to wildlife.
It grows to reach a height of 2-4 feet tall and prefers medium-dry or dry soil or rocky or sandy conditions. It produces large, 2-inch pink to lavender blooms that are a magnet for long-tongued pollinators. Hummingbirds, bumblebees, songbirds, butterflies, and moths are all attracted to it. It is a host plant of the Common Buckeye and Checkerspot butterflies. While its bloom time is relatively short, lasting about 3 weeks, it provides an important nectar and pollen source for pollinators in late spring and early summer. Beyond nectar and pollen during bloom time, its seed pods that develop after flowering are used as a food source by songbirds in late summer, fall, and winter, and leaving the stalks and foliage through winter offers shelter for insects and structural habitat other wildlife.
Would you love to see this showy wildflower’s beautiful blooms in your pollinator plot, native garden bed, or conservation seed mix? 😍
