Quercus

Eastern Smooth Beardtongue

Penstemon laevigatus

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Care

  • Avoid overly wet or poorly drained soil.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Penstemon

  • Caloptilia murtfeldtellaPoison Ivy Leafminer
  • Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
  • Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
  • Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
  • Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
  • Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
  • Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
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)
Beetles 1
  • Trichius piger

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 1
  • Deilephila lineata

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Flies · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Plantaginaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Purple or white

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Eastern Smooth Beard Tongue

Conservation status

Kentucky rankS4?
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources