large-flowered beardtongue

not listed

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Large-flowered beardtongue is a 12″ to 40″ tall, erect, biennial or short-lived perennial forb that rises on usually a single stem, sometimes 2 or 3 stems, from a stout taproot.

In the first year it appears as a rosette of basal leaves. In the second year it sends up a flowering stalk.

The stems are erect, stout, unbranched, round in cross section, and hairless. They are pale grayish-green to bluish-green and are covered with a whitish, waxy coating (glaucous).

Basal leaves are stalked, thick, firm, grayish-green to bluish-green, egg-shaped to inversely egg-shaped, 2″ to 5″ long, and 1″ to 3″ wide. They are gradually tapered or rounded and abruptly tapered at the base, and are blunt or pointed at the tip. The upper and lower surfaces are hairless and glaucous. The margins are untoothed.

Stem leaves are opposite, stalkless, egg-shaped, 2″ to 4″ long, 1″ to 2½″ wide, rounded at the base, and otherwise similar to basal leaves. They become progressively shorter but not much narrower as they ascend the stem. Upper stem leaves are almost round and are shallowly heart-shaped and somewhat clasping at the base.

The inflorescence is an unbranched, elongated, 6″ to 12″ long, raceme-like cluster at the end of the stem. There are 3 to 9 opposite pairs of leaf-like appendages (bracts) in the inflorescence. The bracts are similar to upper stem leaves but much smaller, up to 1¼″ long and ¾″ wide. From the axil of each bract there rises usually 1, sometimes 2 or 3, large, short stalked, showy flowers.

Each flower has 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 stamens, and 1 style. The sepals are green and ¼″ to 7 ⁄16″ long. They are fused at the base into a cup-shaped tube, then separated into 5 long, sharply pointed lobes. The lobes are longer than the tube. The petals (corolla) are purple or purplish-pink. They are fused at the base into a trumpet-shaped, 1⅜″ to 2″ long tube with 5 rounded lobes. The lobes form 2 distinct lips, a 2-lobed upper lip and a 3-lobed lower lip. The tube is much longer than the lobes. There are dark purple lines within the corolla tube that act as nectar guides. The stamens are about as long as the corolla tube. Four stamens are fertile, one is sterile (staminode). The staminode is has yellowish hairs at the tip, which is the source of the common name beardtongue. The style is white. The individual flowers are short-lived but the blooming period lasts about 3 weeks from May to late June. They are not fragrant.

The fruit is an egg-shaped, ⅝″ to ¾″ long seed capsule with numerous seeds. It is pale green at first, turning brown and woody as it matures.

12″ to 40″

Pink

Dry. Prairies. Full sun. Sandy or rocky soil.

May to late June

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28.

Native

Widespread but not abundant

Plant

Inflorescence

Flower

Leaves

Fruit