Penstemon caesius

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Penstemon caesius
Penstemon caesius - Matthew Mosher 01.jpg
In Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Penstemon
Species:
P. caesius
Binomial name
Penstemon caesius

Penstemon caesius, commonly known as the San Bernardino penstemon, is a low growing species of flowering plant. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, as well as the southern mountains of the Sierra Nevada. It is a member of the flora on rocky slopes and in coniferous forests and alpine habitat in the mountains.

Contents

Description

It is a perennial plant with erect flowering stems, ones that grow more or less straight upwards from the base of the plant, that may be as much as 45 centimeters in height, but are more often 14 to 30 cm tall. [2] It is a subshrub, a plant that is partially woody, with low, scrambling, or creeping branches at the base of the plant. [3] The stems are hairless and sometimes waxy, but the inflorescence is covered in glandular hairs. [2]

Most of the leaves are basal on the plant and are wide obovate, teardrop shaped narrow towards the base, to round in shape, with smooth edges. [3] They are usually 1.5 to 5 centimeters long, but occasionally may be as little as 7 millimeters. They can be as narrow as 4 millimeters, but more frequently are 0.7 to 2 centimeters wide. [2]

The inflorescence produces purple-blue tubular flowers roughly 2 centimeters long. The flower has a glandular outer surface, a coat of hairs inside, and a hairless staminode. [3] The flowers of this penstemon are pollinated by bees of genus Osmia , which feed on their nectar. [4]

Taxonomy

Penstemon caesius was scientifically described and named by Asa Gray in 1883. [5]

Names

Penstemon caesius is known by the common names of San Bernardino penstemon or San Bernardino beardtongue. [6] [2]

Range and habitat

The San Bernardino penstemon is endemic to the state of California. There it can be found in the San Bernardino Mountains and San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. It also grows in higher parts of the Sierra Nevada. [3] It is documented in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Kern counties to the south and Fresno, Inyo, and Tulare counties to the north. [2] The elevation range for the species is 1800 to 3400 meters. [3]

It can be found in open coniferous coniferous forests as well as open habitats above timberline on treeless rocky ridges. [3]

Conservation

The conservation non-profit NatureServe has evaluated Penstemon caesius as vulnerable (G3) at the global level. However, this status has not been reviewed since 1998. [1]

See also

List of Penstemon species

Related Research Articles

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<i>Penstemon azureus</i> Plant species in the plantain family

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<i>Penstemon bicolor</i> Plant species in the plantain family

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<i>Penstemon calcareus</i> Plant species in the plantain family

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<i>Penstemon floridus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Penstemon fruticiformis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Penstemon heterophyllus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon heterophyllus is a species of penstemon known by the common names bunchleaf penstemon, foothill penstemon, and foothill beardtongue. It is endemic to California.

<i>Penstemon incertus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon incertus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Mojave beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in many of the southeastern mountain ranges, including the southern reaches of the Sierra Nevada, the Tehachapis, and the mountains of the Mojave Desert region. It is a member of the flora in scrub and woodland, among Joshua Trees and in sandy washes.

<i>Penstemon laetus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon laetus is a species of penstemon known by the common names mountain blue penstemon and gay penstemon. It is native to the inland mountains of Oregon and California, where its distribution extends from the Klamath Mountains through the Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges. It grows in forest, scrub, and other local mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 75 centimeters tall, its base becoming woody. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and up to 10 centimeters long. The glandular inflorescence bears blue or purple flowers up to 3.5 centimeters long. The wide-mouthed tubular or funnel-shaped flower is glandular on the outer surface and mostly hairless on the inside.

Penstemon neotericus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Plumas County beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the northern Sierra Nevada and adjacent southern peaks of the Cascade Range. It grows in forest, scrub, and other mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 80 centimeters tall, becoming woody toward the base. The paired leaves are lance-shaped and nearly 9 centimeters in maximum length. The glandular inflorescence bears blue-purple or pinkish flowers up to 4 centimeters long. The flowers have white, mostly hairless mouths and hairless staminodes.

<i>Penstemon personatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon personatus is an uncommon species of penstemon known by the common name closethroat beardtongue.

<i>Penstemon roezlii</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon roezlii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Roezl's penstemon. It is native to Oregon, western Nevada, and adjacent sections of northern California, including the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, where it grows in sagebrush and forest habitat types. It is a hairy, erect perennial herb growing to a maximum height of 55 centimeters from a woody, branching base. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long, linear to widely lance-shaped and often folded lengthwise. The glandular inflorescence bears wide-mouthed tubular flowers up to 2.2 centimeters long in shades of blue-purple. The flowers are mostly hairless except for thin glandular hairs on the outer surfaces.

<i>Penstemon speciosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon speciosus is a species of penstemon known by the common name royal penstemon of western North America.

<i>Penstemon spectabilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon spectabilis is a species of penstemon known by the common name showy penstemon or showy beardtongue. It is a perennial herb native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in the chaparral, scrub, and woodlands of the coastal mountain ranges.

Ribes lasianthum is a species of currant known by the common names alpine gooseberry and woolly-flowered gooseberry. It is native to California, where it can be found in the San Gabriel Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, its distribution extending just into Nevada.

<i>Ericameria parryi</i> Species of flowering plant

Ericameria parryi is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Parry's rabbitbrush. It is native to much of the western United States.

References

  1. 1 2 NatureServe (2024). "Penstemon caesius". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. "Penstemon caesius". Flora of North America . p. 232. ISBN   978-0190868512. OCLC   1101573420. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wetherwax, Margriet; Holmgren, Noel H. (2012). "Penstemon caesius". Jepson eFlora. University of California, Berkley. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  4. Howell, A. D. & R. Alarcón. (2007). Osmia bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) can detect nectar-rewarding flowers using olfactory cues. Animal Behaviour 74:2 199-205.
  5. "Penstemon caesius A.Gray". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  6. McMinn, Howard E. (1970). An Illustrated Manual of California Shrubs (First American ed.). Berkely, California: University of California Press. p. 515. ISBN   978-0-520-00847-2. OCLC   4444333.