penstemon

noun

variants or less commonly pentstemon
: any of a genus (Penstemon) of perennial, chiefly North American herbs or low shrubs of the plantain family typically with spikes of showy, two-lipped, tubular flowers with two lobes on the upper lip and three lobes on the lower lip : beardtongue
In the pastel planting, pink penstemons with upright spikes of tubular flowers contrast with such mounding plants as pinksLynn Ocone

Examples of penstemon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Sutherland Trail offers the best assortment of flowers with poppies, cream cups, lupines, penstemon and desert chicory. Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 21 Feb. 2026 The common buckeye’s host plants are snapdragon, mimulus, penstemon and plantain. Sara Okeefe, Mercury News, 17 Nov. 2025 Come in summer, and you’ll be rewarded with expansive fields of wild flowers, including white and yellow daisies, magenta elephant heads, and deep pink Whipple’s penstemons. Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 21 May 2025 In the casual garden, roses contrast and pair wonderfully with the vertical showy spikes of foxgloves, penstemons, delphiniums, stock and snapdragons and the tiny, dainty flowers of alyssum, daisies and nemesia. Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for penstemon

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from penta- + Greek stēmōn warp, thread — more at stamen

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of penstemon was in 1760

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Cite this Entry

“Penstemon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penstemon. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.

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