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 the staminode has a few hairs at its tip;  some Penstemon staminodes are very hairy and most project outward from the floral tube.  These two characteristics are the source for one common name for the genus: "Beard Tongue".

Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.  Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, May 25, 2010 and Hawkins Preserve, Cortez, Colorado, May 23, 2006.

Charles Baker and friends collected the first specimens of this plant near Mancos, Colorado in 1898, and David Keck named the plant Penstemon jamesii in 1938.  It was given its present name by Gladys Nisbet and Raymond Jackson in 1960.  "Breviculus" is Latin for "short-stemmed", or "very short".

Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.  Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, May 25, 2010 and Hawkins Preserve, Cortez, Colorado, May 23, 2006.

From a few feet away, Penstemon breviculus appears to have a fuzzy halo surrounding its stem and floral parts.  As one gets closer to the plant, one sees a glow surrounding these parts.  And finally, when one gets very close or uses a hand lens, one can see that the floral tube, the calyx, and the stem are covered in minute, ball-tipped, sticky ("glandular") hairs.  Even insects are trapped by the stickiness  -- as the third photograph shows.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Penstemon breviculus