In 1748 the genus was named by British citizen and 1735-1746 American resident and plant collector, Dr. John Mitchell.  Almost all sources I consulted 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".

Penstemon strictus is showy, very common, and often appears in large colonies in Pinyon-Juniper woods and lower montane elevations.  It blooms for many weeks and is, in many areas of the Four Corners, the most common and conspicuous Penstemon.  It grows from one-to-three feet tall; has few, narrow, pointed, opposite stem leaves; and its numerous stems with numerous purple flowers (ranging from intensely deep purple to pale lavender-purple) are mostly secund, i.e., arranged on one side of the stem.  

Penstemon strictus is always abundant on Mesa Verde's Prater Ridge Trail and even in 2001 after the extensive fire of the summer of 2000, the plant bloomed profusely.  In 2005, when this photograph was taken, the fire-hardened soils were returning to normal and heavy winter and spring moisture produced an amazing bloom of Penstemon Strictus -- and many other flowering plants on Prater Ridge.  

"Strictus", from the Latin for straight, perhaps refers to the leaf or to the very straight stems  --  which often, however, actually lean.

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 strictus