Penstemon digitalis "finger": the flowers resemble fingers of a glove. The plant grows in moist, sandy soil in full sun in meadows, prairies, fields, wood margins, open woods and along railroad tracks. Its bloom period is from late spring to early summer. The plant is known to attract, butterflies, and birds such as hummingbirds. It tolerates deer browsing. Native states for "P. digitalis" include Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri although it is less common in Iowan native prairies compared to other "Penstemon" species. The genus "Penstemon" is the largest in North America with 270 species. However, genome size was relatively unknown for the
Radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant of substantial contamination from the 1957 plutonium fire until after the highly visible 1969 fire, when civilian monitoring teams confronted government officials with measurements made outside the plant of radioactive contamination suspected to be from the 1969 fire, which consumed hundreds of pounds of plutonium (850 kg). The 1969 fire raised public awareness of potential hazards posed by the plant and led to years of increasing citizen protests and demands for plant closure. Releases from previous years had not been reported publicly prior to the fire; airborne-become-groundborne radioactive contamination extending well beyond the Rocky Flats plant was not publicly reported