Penstemon angustifolius Nutt. ex Pursh

vernacular broadbeard beardtongue — species · Scrophulariaceae

USDA: PEAN4
GBIF: 3171336
Rank: species

broadbeard beardtongue (Penstemon angustifolius) — Platephotograph · Austin SaundersCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Scrophulariaceae Juss.
Genus: Penstemon

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: High
Moisture use: Low
Fire: None
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -28 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 160 min.
Precipitation: 9–35 in/yr
pH range: 7–8.5
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 3 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: White
Fruit colour: Purple
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: Moderate

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Rapid
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 313,000
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 3 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PEAN4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3171336 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z