Penstemon pubescens. 89
by repand denticulations or rather serratures near one-eighth of an
inch apart. Upper portion of the stem branching into a kind of pan-
nicle, supporting from fifteen to thirty showy pale-blue flowers. Corolla
labiate or rather personate, orifice of lower lip pubescent. Seed-
vessel glabrous, conical, crowned by the persistent style, and containing
numerous minute seeds. Grows on the borders of open woods
and fields throughout the Union, common. Perennial, flowering in
July.
A North American genus, to which the labours of Pursh and Nut-
tall have added many new and beautiful species. The chief part of
these are natives of the plains of Missouri and about Teton river—
on the Arikarees and near Shian river—also near the Prairie du Chien,
Mississippi. The only species which grows hereabout, is the one now
figured. They are all herbaceous and perennial plants, and rarely
shrubby or suffructicose.
The table represents the flowering half of the plant, as large as nature.