Penstemon gairdneri

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Penstemon gairdneri
Penstemon gairdneri - Lindsey Salmonson 01.jpg
Wenas Wildlife Area, Yakima County, Washington
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (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. gairdneri
Binomial name
Penstemon gairdneri
Varieties [2]
  • P. gairdneri var. gairdneri
  • P. gairdneri var. oreganus A.Gray

Penstemon gairdneri is a species of perennial plant in the Plantaginaceae family with the common name Gairdner's beardtongue. It is native to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the western United States.

Contents

Description

Penstemon gairdneri is a subshrub, a plant with somewhat woody stems especially towards their base. It has flower-bearing stems that grow upright or out a short distance before curving to grow upwards from a branched, woody caudex, reaching 6 to 40 centimeters in height. The stems are covered in stiff backwards facing hairs and are not glaucous, covered in natural waxes. [3] It also often has short densely-leafy stems lacking flowers that form an open basal mat. [4] During the winter the leaves are deciduous, usually including the ones at the base, leaving the stems an unclothed mound of sticks. [5] [3]

The leaves are numerous and are both basal and cauline, attached directly to the base of the plant or to the stems. [4] Leaves are not leathery and can be attached to stems alternately or mostly in pairs on opposite sides of the stems. The basal leaves the lowest ones on the stems are 1 to 7 centimeters long and just 1 to 4 millimeters wide. They may be spatulate, oblanceolate, or linear in shape; like spoons, reversed spear heads, or narrow and resembling those of grass. When opposite stems will have eight to twelve pairs of leaves, when alternating there will be 13 to 25 in total. Leaves higher up the plant are just 7 to 35 mm long and only 1 to 3 mm wide. [3] The edges of the leaves are smooth, but revolute, rolled downward. [6]

The showy flowers are part of a loose inflorescence with three to twelve groups of flowers. Each group has a pair of peduncles, unusually with one flower each, but occasionally branched with two flowers. [3] They have a tubular throat that flares into 5 petal-like segments that are almost flat. [5] The inside of the tube is pale blue to white while the outside may be blue, violet, or lavender. The flowers may be marked with nectar guide lines or lack them. [6]

Taxonomy

Penstemon gairdneri is in the Penstemon genus in family Plantaginaceae. The botanist William Jackson Hooker published the first scientific description for the species and named it Penstemon gairdneri in 1838. [2]

Varieties

The species has two accepted varieties: [2]

Penstemon gairdneri var. gairdneri

The autonymic variety grows in eastern Oregon and central Washington. [7] It is differs from variety oreganus by always having alternating leaves and typically being shorter, only rarely reaching 35 centimeters (14 in) and more often having stems 6 to 20 cm (2.5 to 8 in) long. [3]

Penstemon gairdneri var. oreganus

This variety was described by Asa Gray in 1886. [8] It grows in eastern Oregon and central Idaho. [9] The leaves of this variety are normally attached to opposite sides of the stems and also has stems that are longer on average, reaching 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16 in). [3]

Synonyms

Penstemon gairdneri has 7 synonyms of the species or one of its varieties. [2] [10] [8]

Table of Synonyms
NameYearRankSynonym of:Notes
Penstemon gairdneri subsp. hians(Piper) D.D.Keck1940subspeciesvar. gairdneri= het.
Penstemon gairdneri var. hiansPiper1900varietyvar. gairdneri= het.
Penstemon gairdneri subsp. oreganus(A.Gray) D.D.Keck1940subspeciesvar. oreganus≡ hom.
Penstemon gairdneri subsp. typicusD.D.Keck1940subspeciesP. gairdneri≡ hom. not validly publ.
Penstemon hiansI.M.Johnst.1923speciesvar. gairdneri= het.
Penstemon oreganus(A.Gray) Howell1901speciesvar. oreganus≡ hom.
Penstemon puberulentusRydb.1917speciesvar. oreganus= het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym  ; = heterotypic synonym

Names

The scientific name of the species, gairdneri, was selected to honor Dr Meredith Gairdner by Hooker. He was a naturalist and surgeon who was acquainted with Hooker and David Douglas in the Hudson's Bay Company settlement on the Columbia River in the Oregon Country. [11] In English it is most commonly called Gairdner's penstemon. [5] It is also sometimes known as rock penstemon, [12] however it shares this common name with Penstemon rupicola . [13]

Range and habitat

The range of Penstemon gairdneri as a species extends from north central Washington state in Okanogan County southward to Oregon, growing east of the Cascade Range. In Oregon it grows through much eastern of Oregon from Wasco and Lake counties east to Idaho. There it mainly grows in an area from Idaho County south to Canyon County, but with an isolated occurance to the east in Butte County. [14]

Penstemon gairdneri grows in open dry habitats at low to moderate elevation in hills and mountains. [4] It reaches juniper and ponderosa pine forests. [6] It is also associated with open sagebrush deserts and the Channeled Scablands on the Columbia Plateau. [4] It may be found at elevations of 100 to 1,800 meters (300 to 5,900 ft). [7]

Conservation

Penstemon gairdneri was evaluated by the conservation organization NatureServe in 1988. At that time they rated it as apparently secure (G4). They did not evaluate it at the state level. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

Penstemon barbatus, known by the common names golden-beard penstemon, and beardlip penstemon, is a flowering plant native to the western United States.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Penstemon floridus</i> Plant species in the veronica family

Penstemon floridus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Panamint penstemon and rose penstemon.

<i>Penstemon fruticiformis</i> Plant species in the veronica family

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.

<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 angustifolius</i> Plant species in the plantain family

Penstemon angustifolius is a perennial semi-evergreen forb belonging to the plantain family. This species is 1 out of roughly 273 species of Penstemon. This species is also known as broadbeard beardtongue. This forb is native to central United States and can be noticed by its brightly and highly variable colored flowers.

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

Penstemon cyaneus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names blue penstemon and dark blue penstemon. It is native to the western United States, where it is widespread in Idaho and also found in parts of Montana and Wyoming.

<i>Penstemon fruticosus</i> Plant species in the veronica family

Penstemon fruticosus, the bush penstemon or shrubby penstemon, is a species of penstemon native to the Pacific Northwest of North America.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Penstemon moffatii</i> Plant species in the veronica family

Penstemon moffatii, commonly called Moffat penstemon, is a flowering plant from the mesas and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah.

References

  1. 1 2 NatureServe (6 December 2024). "Penstemon gairdneri". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Penstemon gairdneri Hook". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. "Penstemon gairdneri". Flora of North America . p. 204. ISBN   978-0190868512. OCLC   1101573420. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Knoke, Don; Giblin, David (2022). "Penstemon gairdneri". Burke Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum / University of Washington. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Turner, Mark; Gustafson, Phyllis (2006). Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 430. ISBN   978-0-88192-745-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James L.; Holmgren, Patricia K. (1984). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. . Vol. 4. Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae) (First ed.). Bronx, New York: New York Botanical Garden. p. 386. ISBN   978-0-231-04120-1. OCLC   320442 . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. "Penstemon gairdneri var. gairdneri". Flora of North America . p. 204. ISBN   978-0190868512. OCLC   1101573420. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Penstemon gairdneri var. oreganus A.Gray". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  9. ↑ Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. "Penstemon gairdneri var. oreganus A. Gray". Flora of North America . p. 204. ISBN   978-0190868512. OCLC   1101573420. Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "Penstemon gairdneri var. gairdneri". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Hooker, Sir William Jackson (1840). Flora Boreali-Americana; or, The Botany of the Northern Parts of British America. Vol. 2 (First ed.). London: Henry G.. Bohn. p. 99. OCLC   15058941.
  12. ↑ Taylor, Ronald J. (1992). Sagebrush Country : A Wildflower Sanctuary (Revised ed.). Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 52. ISBN   978-0-87842-280-7. OCLC   25708726 . Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Barker, Joan (2009). A Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers of North America. Bath, United Kingdom: Parragon. p. 32. ISBN   978-1-4075-8749-3 . Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  14. ↑ NRCS (13 December 2024), "Penstemon gairdneri", PLANTS Database, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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