Penstemon floridus | |
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var. floridus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Penstemon |
Species: | P. floridus |
Binomial name | |
Penstemon floridus | |
Varieties [2] | |
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Synonyms [2] | |
List
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Penstemon floridus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Panamint penstemon and rose penstemon.
It is native to the lower mountain and plateau areas of the Mojave Desert, within eastern California and southwestern Nevada. It grows in canyons, arroyos, and sagebrush scrub.
Penstemon floridus is a herbaceous plant that grows to between 50 and 120 centimeters (1.6 and 3.9 ft) tall when full grown. [3] Its stems can either grow straight up or grow outward a short amount before curving to grow upwards. [4] They are hairless and glaucous, covered in natural waxes giving them a somewhat gray or blue coloration. [3]
Plants have both basal and cauline leaves, ones that grow directly from the base of the plant and those that are attached to the stems. [4] The leaves are thick and generally dentate, having large teeth along their edges. [3] The basal leaves and the lowest ones on the stems have short petioles and range in length from 5 to 10 centimeters (2.0 to 3.9 in) and are usually 2 to 4.5 cm (0.79 to 1.77 in) wide, though on occasion they may be just 8 millimeters wide. They also come in a variety of shapes including obovate to ovate, oblanceolate, or lanceolate. On the stems there are six to nine pairs of leaves. The upper ones may have their bases directly attached to the main stem and may also clasp it. [4]
The hairy and glandular inflorescence is 30 to 80 cm (1.0 to 2.6 ft) at the end of each stem with nine to nineteen groups of flowers. The flowers all face one direction. The flowers are showy and measure 2.1 to 3.2 cm long with a wide throat that is narrower at the mouth, especially in var. floridus, [4] resembling an inflated pink pufferfish. [5] The color of the fused petals can be lavender to light pink, rose pink, or light yellow, but always with darker red nectar guide lines. [4]
The scientific description and name of Penstemon floridus was published by Townshend Stith Brandegee in 1899. [2]
There are two varieties of this species. [2] Where they meet in the southern Silver Peak Range and southern White Mountains they hybridize. [6]
Austin's beardtongue, named for Stafford Wallace Austin, collector of plants and husband of writer Mary Hunter Austin. [7] [8] It has two synonyms as it was initially described by Alice Eastwood as a species named Penstemon austini in 1905. In 1937 it was described as a subspecies by David D. Keck before it was reclassified as a variety by Noel H.Holmgren in 1979. [9] It grows in Inyo County, California where it is found on the Grapevine Mountains, Inyo Mountains, Last Chance Range, Panamint Range, and White Mountains. Across the boarder in Esmeralda County, Nevada, they grow on the Silver Peak Range. Further west in Nye County the variety can be found on Shoshone Mountain and Tolicha Peak. [10]
The autonymic variety grows to the north in the central Sierra Nevada. In California it grows at the north end of Owens Valley and also in the White Mountains in Inyo and Mono counties. While in Nevada it only grows in Esmeralda County in the Silver Peak Range. [11]
The species name, floridus, means "many flowered". [5] In English it is known by the common name Panamint penstemon. [12] It is also known as rosy penstemon. [5]
Penstemon floridus is limited to the deserts of Nevada and southern California. [3] It grows with desert sagebrush and pinyon-juniper woodland communities, usually in the gravelly soil of arroyos and canyons. [6]
In 1998 the conservation organization NatureServe evaluated Penstemon floridus and rated it as vulnerable (G3). [1]
Penstemon barbatus, known by the common names golden-beard penstemon, and beardlip penstemon, is a flowering plant native to the western United States.
Penstemon anguineus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Siskiyou penstemon. It is native to the mountains of southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in coniferous forests, often in open areas left by logging operations.
Penstemon azureus is a flowering plant species known by the common name azure penstemon. It is native to the mountains of Oregon and northern California. It grows in coniferous forests and woodlands in the Klamath Mountains, North California Coast Ranges, Southern Cascade Range, and Northern Sierra Nevada.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Penstemon centranthifolius is a species of penstemon known by the common name scarlet bugler. It is native to California and parts of Mexico, where it grows in many types of dry habitat from coast to desert, such as chaparral and oak woodland.
Penstemon cinicola is a species of penstemon known by the common name ash penstemon. It is native to northeastern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in forests and plateau habitat.
Penstemon clevelandii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Cleveland penstemon. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in mountain and desert habitat such as scrub, woodland, and chaparral.
Penstemon deustus is a species of penstemon known by the common names hotrock penstemon and scabland penstemon. It is native to much of the northwestern United States from the Pacific Northwest to Wyoming, where it grows in many types of forest and open plateau habitat, often on soils heavy in volcanic rock or on limestone outcrops.
Penstemon eatonii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Penstemon, known by the common name firecracker penstemon. It is native to the Western United States from Southern California to the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of desert, woodland, forest, and open plateau habitat.
Penstemon filiformis is an uncommon species of Penstemon known by the common name threadleaf penstemon. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of northern California, where it grows in forest and woodland, often on serpentine soils.
Penstemon fruticiformis is a species of penstemon known by the common name Death Valley penstemon. It is native to the western United States, where it is found growing in rocky scrub, woodlands, deserts and mountains of eastern California and western Nevada. It is known from scattered occurrences around Death Valley, and only one of the two varieties occurs on the Nevada side of the border.
Penstemon canescens is a species of penstemon in the family Plantaginaceae. P. canescens is known by the common names gray beardtongue or Appalachian beardtongue. It is native to woodlands, forest edges, and roadsides of the southeastern United States and flowers May through July. It is a perennial herb producing stems reaching 80 centimeters in maximum height.
Penstemon fruticosus is a species of penstemon known by the common names bush penstemon or shrubby penstemon. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of North America.
Penstemon davidsonii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Davidson's penstemon, honoring Dr. George Davidson. It is native to western North America.
Penstemon comarrhenus is a perennial plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.
Penstemon cyanocaulis, the bluestem penstemon or bluestem beardtongue, is a perennial plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.
Penstemon crandallii, also known as Crandall's penstemon, is a species of penstemon that grows in western Colorado and small parts of New Mexico and Utah. It is a low growing plant with blue to purple flowers.