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Eastern Gray Beardtongue

Penstemon canescens

Found in woodlands, glades, forest edges, rocky woodlands, roadsides. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

73
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
1–3 feet
Spread
1–1.5 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
May to July

Recorded in 18 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Penstemon

  • Archirhoe neomexicanaNew Mexico Carpet
  • Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
  • Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
  • Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
  • Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
  • Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Stenoptilodes taprobanesNarrow Plume Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
46BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Penstemon

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Penstemon

  • Atoposmia abjecta
  • Osmia distincta
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Penstemon

  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Plantaginaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Appalachian Beard Tongue; Eastern Gray Beard Tongue

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG4
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources