These inch-long flowers are blooming now in Schenley Park.   They stand out because the plant is three feet tall.

Though penstemons are common in the western U.S. Penstemon digitalis is one of the few species native to Pennsylvania.  I found several blooming in a new location in the park, probably because their seeds were in a native plant mix applied to an erosion project.

Their scientific name is easy to remember.  The common name is a mouthful:  Foxglove beardtongue.   Try saying that three times fast.

(photo by Kate St. John)

p.s. The pistil in this flower looks like a tongue and it has hairs, thus “beardtongue.”