In 1748 the genus was named by British citizen and 1735-1746 American resident and plant collector, Dr. John Mitchell.  Almost all sources indicate that the word "Penstemon" is derived from the Greek "pente" ("five") and "stemon" ("thread").  Penstemons are so named because one of their five stamens, i.e., one of their thread-like structures, is sterile and visually distinctly different from the others.

      An alternate, but ultimately similar etymology is given by Intermountain Flora: "paene" is Latin for "nearly" and "stemon" is Greek for "thread".  Thus the name means "nearly a thread", i.e., "nearly a stamen".

     Whatever the derivation, the botanical word for such a structure is "staminode", "a modified stamen which does not produce pollen".  (Intermountain Flora definition.)  You can see this staminode, nearly a stamen, structure at the left in the above photograph.  Notice that it is hairy at the top, as are most Penstemon staminodes.  This hairiness is the source of one common name for the genus: "Beard Tongue".

Foothills, montane. Open woodlands. Summer. 
Narraguinnep Natural Area, June 18, 2007.

These delicate pink/blue flowers grow to three or four feet tall on slender stems with widely spaced and very narrow leaves.  Basal leaves are broader and more numerous.

The plant is only found in the Four Corners states and Nevada.  Asa Gray named the plant in 1876 from a collection made in Utah by L. F. Ward in 1875.  "Comarrhenus" is from the Greek "kome" meaning "hairy".

Foothills, montane. Open woodlands. Summer. 
Narraguinnep Natural Area, June 18, 2007.

Flower tubes are very narrow and broaden quickly to a wide, almost spherical, throat.  Both of these are very pale lavender pink but the upper and lower lips have stronger tinges of blue with strong red violet lines.  The anthers are covered with kinky white hairs.