Penstemon calcareus

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Penstemon calcareus
Penstemon calcareus - Van Loon 01.jpg
Blooming in Death Valley National Park
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (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. calcareus
Binomial name
Penstemon calcareus
Brandegee, 1903
Synonyms [2]

Penstemon calcareus is a species of penstemon known by the common name limestone penstemon. It is native to California, where it is known from the deserts of central San Bernardino County, as well as the Death Valley area, where its distribution extends just over the border into Nevada. It grows in scrub and woodland, often on limestone substrates.

Contents

Description

Penstemon calcareus has stems that grow to between 5 and 35 centimeters tall that grow directly upward from the base of the plant or grow outwards as short distance and then curving to grow upwards. [3] They are herbaceous and covered in fine, backwards pointing hairs that give the stems a gray appearance like being covered in dust. The tops of the stems are densely covered in glands. [4] The plant grows perennially from a woody caudex at ground level. [3]

It has both cauline and basal leaves, ones attached to the stems and those that grow directly from the base of the plant, that are somewhat leathery and have the same backwards pointing hairs as the stems. The basal leaves and the lower cauline leaves are attached to the plant by petioles and measure 1.5 to 5.5 centimeters long and 0.6 to 2.5 cm wide. Their shape may be elliptic to broadly ovate with a tapered base and either faint serrations or a smooth edge. Further up the stem the leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate and longer, 2.5–7.5 cm long. These leaves also lack petioles and instead have their base clasping the main stem. [3]

The inflorescence produces bright pink to purplish tubular or funnel-shaped flowers between 1.3 and 1.7 centimeters long. [4] The flower has a glandular outer surface and a staminode 7 to 9 millimeter long that covered with golden hairs. [3]

Taxonomy

Penstemon calcareus was scientifically described in 1903 by Townshend Stith Brandegee. It has one synonym, Penstemon desertorum. [2]

Names

Penstemon calcareus is known by the common names limestone penstemon or limestone beardtongue. [5] [3]

Range and habitat

The range of limestone penstemon includes two Californian counties, Inyo and San Bernardino, and also Esmeralda County, Nevada. [3] Most of its range is in California with one just one population in Nevada discovered in Death Valley National Park in 2003. Its range is spread out over 20,000 to 200,000 square kilometers, but only has a few populations. [1] In this area it grows on mountains within the Mojave Desert at elevations of 1200 to 2000 meters above sea level. [3]

It will often grow in limestone crevices and rocky slopes. It is associated with pinyon–juniper woodlands and Joshua tree scrublands. [4]

Conservation

The conservation organization NatureServe evaluated Penstemon calcareus in 2010 as imperiled at a global level (G2). They found it to have a long term decline in numbers of 30 to 70%. [1]

See also

List of Penstemon species

Related Research Articles

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<i>Salvia funerea</i> Species of shrub

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

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

Penstemon barnebyi is a species of penstemon known by the common names White River Valley beardtongue and Barneby's beardtongue. It is native to the mountain and basin territory of central western Nevada, where it grows in sagebrush and woodland; there is also one occurrence just over the California border.

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

Penstemon bicolor is a species of penstemon known by the common name pinto penstemon. It is native to the desert mountains and valleys of southern Nevada, eastern California, and western Arizona, where it grows in scrub, woodland, and other local habitat. It is a perennial herb which may exceed one meter in maximum height.

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

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.

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

Penstemon californicus is a species of penstemon known by the common name California penstemon. It is native to Baja California and is also known from fewer than 20 occurrences in California, mainly in Orange and Riverside Counties. It grows in the forest and woodland habitat of the Peninsular Ranges and nearby slopes.

<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.

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

Penstemon rhizomatosus is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Scheel Creek beardtongue and rhizome beardtongue. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it occurs only in the Schell Creek Range of White Pine County.

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

Penstemon acuminatus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names sharpleaf penstemon and sand-dune penstemon. It is native to the dry interior of the northwestern United States.

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

Penstemon brevisepalus, commonly known as short-sepaled beardtongue, is an herbaceous plant in the plantain family. It is a perennial that produces pale lavender flowers in late spring.

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

Penstemon calycosus, commonly called longsepal beardtongue, is a species of plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It is native to eastern North America, where it native to the Upper South and Midwestern United States. It expanded its range into the northeast United States in the early 20th century. Its natural habitat is in open woodlands, prairies, and bluffs, often over limestone.

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

Penstemon australis is a perennial plant native to the southeastern United States, with the common name Eustis Lake penstemon.

<i>Penstemon arenicola</i> Plant species in the family

Penstemon arenicola, commonly known as Red Desert penstemon, is a species of plant from the Western United States. It primarily grows in Wyoming, but it also grows in small areas of Colorado and Utah. It is a short plant known for growing in sand as referenced by its scientific name.

Penstemon yampaensis, the Yampa penstemon, is a rare species of plant from the western United States. It grows in the Yampa River drainage of Colorado and Wyoming and westward into Utah. It is one of the more unusual penstemons, having almost no stem. It is threatened from habitat disturbance, particularly the invasion of the non-native cheatgrass.

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

Penstemon breviculus, the narrow-mouth penstemon or shortstem penstemon, is a species of perennial flowering plant from the dry forests and steppes of the Colorado Plateau in the western United States.

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

Penstemon watsonii is a flowering plant that grows largely in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. It grows in dry rocky areas and has blue to violet flowers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 NatureServe (2024). "Penstemon calcareus". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Penstemon calcareus Brandegee". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. Penstemon calcareus. Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN   978-0190868512. OCLC   1101573420 . Retrieved 5 November 2024.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. 1 2 3 Wetherwax, Margriet; Holmgren, Noel H. (2012). "Penstemon calcareus". Jepson eFlora. University of California, Berkley. Archived from the original on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  5. DeDecker, Mary (1984). Flora of the Northern Mojave Desert, California (First ed.). Berkeley, California: California Native Plant Society. p. 118. ISBN   978-0-943460-09-3. LCCN   84012151. OCLC   10851524.