Penstemon hesperius is our endemic beard-tongue here in the Tualatin Valley. Described by Peck in 1932, tall beard-tongue or tall western penstemon was presumed extinct for many decades until former Scholls employee Rachael Roberts found this unusual plant in 2008 growing adjacent to an abandoned farm field at the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge. Since then, a small number of populations have been located, including two that have been incorporated into the accession that we have now grown for the past ten years here at Scholls.
Tall western penstemon grows in and around wet prairies on deep soils, which is atypical habitat for the genus. Its electric blue and lavender flowers are borne in elongated verticillasters, and they attract swarms of pollinators, especially bumblebees. These are robust and prolific plants, and they frequently naturalize around the farm, showing up in headlands and as weeds in rows of other species. Not that we mind. This is just another reason we don’t use pesticides. We get to see what pops up and where, so we learn things about habitat selection, seed dispersal and other features of our native flora that can only be learned by living with them. And so we do, and here it is – the tall western penstemon. There are seven bumblebees in this photo. Can you find them?
