Wyoming’s
 

Threatened and Endangered 

Plant Species
 

Blowout Penstemon 

Bureau of Land management
 

BLM
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blowout Penstemon 

One of Wyoming’s rarest native plants, 

blowout penstemon (Penstemon 

haydenii), only recently earned its 

rightful recognition. This striking 

perennial herb was first 

discovered in Wyoming 

in 1877 by botanist and 

e x p l o r e r F e r d i n a n d 

Hayden while exploring 

prominent sand dunes 

between Casper and 

Rawlins. Not until 1996, 

when a U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) botanist 

stumbled upon a supposedly 

unknown species, was the blowout 

penstemon rediscovered as a verified 

member of Wyoming’s flora. 

Blowout penstemon was first 

discovered in Nebraska, where it was 

known in large numbers through 1914. 

By the 1940s, they had decreased 

dramatically. Numbers of the plant 

were so low that the next observed 

blowout penstemon was not reported 

there until 1959. The species was 

designated as endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 by 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 

September 1, 1987. 

Because of its rarity and federal 

endangered status, Wyoming botanists 

have been researching the distribution, 

abundance, and trends of blowout 

penstemon statewide. Today, several 

thousand individual plants make up 

the three Wyoming populations in 

the northeastern corner of the Great 

Divide Basin in Carbon County, near 

the Ferris and Seminoe Mountains (see 

map). 

Blowout penstemon photographs by 

Bonnie Heidel 

DesCriPtion 

Blowout penstemon is one of 

41 Wyoming penstemon species 

which are characterized by tubular, 

two-lipped flowers and a fifth, 

sterile stamen that is often 

covered in yellow hairs. 

This unique feature gives 

the Penstemon genus 

its alternative common 

name: ‘beardtongue.’ 

The blue or purple 

pale flowers of 

blowout penstemon 

are 1 to 11⁄2 inch long, 

arranged in clusters 

around a tall flowering stem and 

produce a faint, vanilla-like scent. 

When not in flower, blowout 

penstemon may be confused with 

other penstemons, particularly 

those in sandy habitats. Largeflower penstemon (Penstemon 

grandiflorus) is found in the 

northeast corner of the state 

and has slightly larger, nonaromatic flowers. Narrowleaf 

penstemon (P. angustifolius)— 

found throughout much of eastern 

Wyoming—has smaller flowers. 

life History 

Blowout penstemon is a pioneer 

species, one of the first plants to 

establish itself, on sand dunes 

and sandy aprons at the base 

of mountains and ridges. In 

Wyoming it blooms in June and 

awaits pollination by insects: 

twenty-six species of solitary bees 

and one bee-like wasp visit this plant 

in Wyoming, seeking both nectar and 

pollen rewards. Once pollinated, the 

flowers ripen into capsule-like fruits, 

each containing twenty to thirty seeds. 

By the end of the summer when the 

seeds have matured, the capsules split 

open and release the seeds into the 

wind. Buried seeds remain viable and 

will only germinate after an ideally 

cool, moist spring. Once a plant 

germinates, it can live for several 

years, but may not f l o w e r 

each year. 

Blowout penstemon illustration by
 

Bellamy Parks Jansen.
 

Reprinted with permission of Jim Stubbendieck
 

HaBitat 

In Wyoming, blowout penstemon is 

found in sparsely vegetated sandy 

blowouts in the early stages of plant 

community development composed 

of blowout grass (Redfieldia flexuosa), 

lemon scurf-pea (Psoralidium 

lanceolatum), and thickspike 

wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus) or 

Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum 

hymenoides). Shifting sand 

dunes are prevented from 

becoming fully stabilized 

and overgrown because of 

wind and gravity. The dunes 

may be 60 to 120 feet high 

on typically steep slopes at 

elevationsbetween5800and 

7500 feet. The absence of 

blowout penstemon from 

other active blowouts 

and gently undulating 

sand dune fields found 

in central and eastern 

Wyoming is likely due 

to a lack of soil moisture 

during the growing season 

and the stage in development 

of local plant communities. 

Conservation 

The Endangered Species Act 

defines an endangered species as 

one in danger of becoming extinct 

throughout all or a significant 

portion of its range. Federal 

law prohibits the removal or 

destruction of endangered plants 

on any federal land or as a result 

of federal actions. As a federally 

listed endangered species, blowout 

penstemon receives this statutory 

protection and protection under BLM 

Special Status Species management 

policy. 

The Wyoming BLM is 

developing a blowout penstemon 

conservation strategy in coordination 

with local, state, and federal agencies, 

as well as private landowners, to 

apply federal statutes and agency 

policy in a way that addresses the 

conservation needs of this plant. The 

goal is to foster long term viability 

of the blowout penstemon and avert 

potential threats that include oil, gas, 

powerline, and water development, 

sand mining, off-road vehicle use, 

live-stock grazing, wind farms and 

plant collection. 

The BLM recognizes that both 

plant conservation and protection 

are essential to sustain ecological, 

economic, and aesthetic values of our 

public lands. The BLM, in partnership 

with local, state, and federal agencies, 

works to achieve its multiple-use 

mandate of public land management. 

For two decades, the BLM has worked 

with the Wyoming Natural Diversity 

Database (WYNDD) and the Rocky 

Mountain Herbarium at the University 

of Wyoming to survey, monitor, and 

research native plant species in order 

to maintain Wyoming’s native plants 

and their habitats. 

R e p e a t e d m o n i t o r i n g 

of Wyoming blowout penstemon 

populations during dry years (2003-06) 

suggests that this plant can survive 

drought. While the plant’s habitat 

is continuously being eroded by 

wind or buried by shifting sand, new 

habitat is developing. Additionally, 

long-lived seeds may provide an 

important buffer from the uncertainties 

of unstable habitat and unsuitable 

climatic conditions. Research and 

monitoring are filling in the status 

picture necessary to ensure the longterm viability of blowout penstemon 

populations in Wyoming. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested Reading 

Fertig, W. 1999. Blowout penstemon, Wyoming’s 

first Endangered plant. Castilleja 18(3): 4. 

Fritz, m., J. stubbendieck, and W. Jobman. 1992 

Blowout penstemon (Penstemon haydenii s. Wats.) 

 recovery plan.U.s. Fish and Wildlife 

service, Denver. 

Heidel, B. 2005a. survey of Penstemon haydenii

 (blowout penstemon) in Wyoming. Prepared for the 

Bureau of Land management. Wyoming natural 

 Diversity Database, Laramie, Wy. 

Heidel, B. 2005b. Child of the wind. Wyoming Wildlife 

69: 8-11. 

stubbendieck, J., J.A. Lamphere and J.B. 

Fitzgerald. 1997. nebraska’s Threatened and 

Endangered Species: Blowout Penstemon. Nebraska 

game and Parks Commission brochure, published 

with support of nebraska Dept. of Agriculture. 

Lincoln, NE. 

Citation: 

B. Heidel, W. Fertig, F. Blomquist, and T. 

Abbott. 2007. Wyoming’s Threatened and 

Endangered Species: Blowout Penstemon. 

Wyoming Bureau of Land management, 

 Cheyenne, Wy. in collaboration with 

Wyoming natural Diversity Database. 

note: new data on the biology and status of 

this species are being collected constantly, and 

parts of the information in this publication may 

become outdated. The fact sheet provides a 

general overview of the status of this species in 

Wyoming and is not intended as the sole source 

of species information for planning and research 

purposes. For additional information on this or 

other threatened and endangered species, or for 

additional copies of the publication, refer to the 

suggested readings or contact the botany contacts 

of the Bureau of Land management in Wyoming, 

U.s. Fish and Wildlife service in Wyoming, and 

the Wyoming natural Diversity Database. 

This Blowout Penstemon fact sheet is one in a 

series on Wyoming’s Threatened and Endangered 

Plant species published by Bureau of Land 

management and the Wyoming natural Diversity 

Database. 

For more information contact: 

Bureau of Land Management 

(307) 775-6256 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

(307) 772-2374 

Wyoming Natural Diversity Database 

(307) 766-3020. 

BLM/WY/GI-08/020+1150