Penstemon smallii

They typically bloom in late spring or early summer with branched panicles of white to purple flowers.[1] They produce inflated tubular flowers 2- 3.5 cm long with two spreading lips, the lower much longer than the upper.[3] The upper lip has two lobes and the lower lip has three lobes, with the flower's throat having two strong ridges and abundant bearding.[3] The leaves are serrate, glabrous, and generally have a lanceolate shape with cordate bases.[3] Stem leaves are sessile, arranged oppositely, and clasp around the stem, though they also contain all the aforementioned elements.[3]

Primarily found in the Southern Appalachians of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, the species extends across the Ridge and Valley south into Alabama. There is also a population disjunction in the Piedmont of North Carolina within Wake County.[4] They are generally found within or around rock outcrops, glades, barrens, bluffs, and rocky slopes, preferring circumneutral soils lacking in fertility.[3] They are also known less frequently from open rocky woodlands, cliffs, and occasionally forest openings.[3] They are most often pollinated by bumblebees and wasps.[3]