Wild Wild Woods: Slender Beardtongue

7/04/2015

Slender Beardtongue

Slender Beardtongue Penstemon gracilis is in bloom at the edge of the woods. Like other plants in the Penstemon family, each bloom has a fuzzy flap in the center; it is an infertile stamen among the four fertile stamens. The infertile stamen or "staminode" looks like a yellow or orange hairy "tongue", inspiring the name: beard tongue.

About this blog "Wild Wild Woods"

Through 2018, the posts on "wild wild woods" were photos taken in my bird garden and a set-aside strip of land that was the old fence row when the suburban lots in my neighborhood were farmed land. That wooded area sheltered a variety of plants and wildlife among the trees, understory, and a brushpile.

Now, my windows look out on a pond.

My new location is another former farm field that became a neighborhood. Fortunately, the wetland was preserved. It includes a pond surrounded by wildflowers, grasses, reeds, and a few trees.

I am pleased to observe and enjoy these places for birds, critters, and plants of central Minnesota.

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7/04/2015

Slender Beardtongue