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| Photo by Bonnie Heidel, WYNDD, also quoted in the article |
The Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming's statewide newspaper) article, "Hike takes people to state’s only endangered plant," published today, discusses penstemons and the upcoming American Penstemon Society/Wyoming Native Plant Society meeting in Laramie on June 22-25. The endangered plant the article refers to is the Blowout Penstemon (Penstemon haydenii, shown right), found only in active sand dunes like those in central Wyoming.
Our very own Dorothy Tuthill is quoted in the article, as she happens to be an expert on penstemons, particularly those found in Wyoming. You may have read about the variety of penstemons we feature in the Berry Prairie. The species found in Wyoming are extremely drought tolerant plants, and in fact prefer very little water over regular watering. In a recent presentation to the Laramie Garden Club Dorothy noted some species' "flowers are even more vibrantly colored when they're drought stressed than when they're well watered."
Below are photos of the two penstemons in bloom in the Berry Prairie, the Fuzzytongue (P. eriantherus) and Blue Mist (P. virens) penstemons.
The Berry Center is also installing a penstemon garden this summer to showcase the impressive diversity within one genus, so stay tuned for more updates!
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| Fuzzytongue Penstemon, now blooming on the Berry Prairie! |
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| Blue Mist Penstemon, also blooming on the Berry Prairie! |
I watched a juvenile broadtailed hummingbird and a giant bee battle for custody of the Penstemon Garden over lunch today!
ReplyDeleteJill, that's wonderful, how interesting! Which won (I suspect the hummingbird?)? Thanks for sharing!
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