John Mitchell published the first scientific description in 1748; although he only named it as "Penstemon", we can identify it as "P. laevigatus". Linnaeus then included it in his 1753 publication, as "Chelone pentstemon", altering the spelling to better correspond to the notion that the name referred to the unusual fifth stamen (Greek "penta-", five). Mitchell's work was reprinted in 1769, continuing with his original spelling, and this was ultimately accepted as the official form, although "Pentstemon" continued in use into the 20th century.