Penstemon gentianoides

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Penstemon gentianoides
Penstemon gentianoides K01.jpg
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. gentianoides
Binomial name
Penstemon gentianoides
Synonyms [1]
  • Chelone gentianoidesKunth
  • Penstemon skutchiiStraw

Penstemon gentianoides, the gentian beardtongue or gentian-leaved Penstemon, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. Found on volcanic mountain slopes across Mexico and Central America, especially in Mexican mountain pine forests, it is a somewhat shrubby perennial herb that can grow up to 1.5 meters tall in good conditions. It has dense bundles of leaves and thyrse-shaped flower clusters with 3–6 flowers which are blue-violet. Named for its similarity to gentians, the species was first described in 1817. It was moved from its original genus Chelone to Penstemon in 1825, and was designated the type species of the new section Fasciculus in 1962.

Contents

P. gentianoides is pollinated by several species of hummingbirds and bumblebees, but can also self-pollinate. The species is used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and for various other purposes, and some of these properties have been demonstrated in a laboratory setting. A phytochemical study was able to isolate a new iridoid chemical from the plant's extract, which was named pensteminoside.

Description

Penstemon gentianoides is a perennial herb that grows upright. It is suffrutescent, or somewhat shrubby, with many stems from a woody base. In good conditions, the plant can become 1.5 meters tall, but in harsher conditions only grows to 0.5 meters tall. [2] It has a chromosome number of n=8 and 2n=16. [3]

Vegetative structures

The stems of the plant are straight and lack hairs (glabrous) everywhere except for the top, where they have very thin hairs. [4] [5] They have dense bundles, or fascicles, of many leaves. [2] The leaves are arranged on opposite sides of the stems and lack a leaf stalk. They have a somewhat leathery texture and usually lack hairs, [4] [5] but can rarely have some hairs. [2] Leaves on the upper part of the plant are lance-shaped and wide, while lower leaves are more narrow and tapering. The largest leaves are 7–15 centimeters long and 1–3 cm wide, and all leaves have smooth edges. [2]

Flowering structures

The plant's flower cluster (inflorescence) is a thyrse, which has a long main axis and many shorter sub-axes. Each cluster has at least 3–6 flowers. The bract leaves are lance-shaped and conspicuous, with the lower ones being longer than the flowers. The pedicels have hairs and glands, and the peduncles are short. The sepals are ellipse-shaped or oval-shaped, or sometimes rhombus-shaped. They are 0.9–1.1 cm long and 0.4–0.5 cm wide, and either lack hairs or have them just along the edges. [2]

The flowers are blue-violet and have a corolla tube that is roughly the same length of the calyx, about 3 cm. Towards the end, it widens abruptly but has a broad and flat lower lip. The stamens are didynamous, or are present in two pairs of uneven stamens. They have hairy, white filaments, and the anthers have strong inner ridges, but there is also a long, sterile filament that lacks hairs. The ovaries are oval-shaped and taper to a point, with a threadlike style that bends down when the plant is mature. [2] The ovules are anatropous and have a single integument. [6] The seed capsule splits when mature, revealing black seeds that are less than 0.2 cm long. [2]

Chemistry

In 2007, the first phytochemical study on Penstemon gentianoides was undertaken. Using ethyl acetate extracts from the leaves, researchers were able to identify a new iridoid chemical they named pensteminoside. [7] Iridoids like this may help flowering plants deter herbivory. [8] Other compounds found in the leaves include plantarenaloside, globularisicin, luteolin, diosmetin, verbascoside, and martynoside. [7]

Etymology

The genus name Penstemon was given by American geographer and botanist John Mitchell based on its characteristic large sterile stamen. It comes from a combination of the Latin word pen ("almost") and the Greek word stemon ("stamen"). [9] The specific epithet gentianoides means "gentian-like" or "similar to a gentian". [10] Penstemon gentianoides is commonly known as gentian beardtongue [11] or the gentian-leaved Penstemon. [5]

Taxonomy

An 1853 illustration of P. gentianoides from Paxton's Flower Garden Penstemon gentianoides Paxton 071.jpg
An 1853 illustration of P. gentianoides from Paxton's Flower Garden

German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth was the first to describe the species, naming it Chelone gentianoides in an edition of Nova Genera et Species Plantarum  [ Wikidata ] in 1817. [12] The modern name Penstemon gentianoides was first applied to the species in the Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles  [ fr ] in 1825 by French botanist Jean Louis Marie Poiret, who moved the plant into the genus Penstemon . [1] Penstemonverticallum was described in 1845 and P. skutchii in 1962, but both were later determined to be synonymous with P. gentianoides. [2] [1] [13]

Botanist Richard Myron Straw established sections and subsections for the genus Penstemon in 1962. He designated P. gentianoides as the type species of both subsection Fasciculi and section Fasciculus . [14]

Distribution and habitat

In Kunth's original publication on the species, the habitat was described as cold places on the slope of the volcano Nevado de Toluca in central Mexico. [4] Poiret designated a location near Tolú in Colombia as the type locality of Penstemon gentianoides. [5] According to Plants of the World Online, its distribution encompasses Guatemala, Honduras, and all but the northwest of Mexico. [1] In particular, the species is found on volcanic peaks of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt at elevations of 3,000–4,200 meters. [15]

Ecology and reproduction

Penstemon gentianoides is found in the herbaceous layer of Mexican mountain pine (Pinus hartwegii) forests alongside Senecio platanifolius and Muhlenbergia macroura. [16]

While Penstemon gentianoides is self-compatible and can be pollinated from different flowers on the same plant, cross-pollination leads to the production of more seeds and fruits. [17] Its flowers are protandrous and have a staminate male flowering phase that lasts around eight days, and them a pistillate female phase that lasts anywhere from one to seven days. [16] The species is pollinated by and is a food source for hummingbirds (including the broad-tailed hummingbird) and bumblebees including Bombus ephippiatus and Bombus huntii. [16] Its flowers have a primarily hymenopteran pollination syndrome and primarily attempt to attract those insects. This is due to their blue-violet color, vestibular corolla, and lower flower lip. However, hummingbirds still play an important role in the reproduction of the species. [18] They visit the flower at higher rates early in the morning, when the nectar is dilute but plentiful. [19]

Uses

Penstemon gentianoides has been used as an ethnomedicine in Mexico. An infusion of the roots and leaves is used for anti-inflammatory purposes. [7] A 2011 study demonstrated that certain monoterpene extracts from the roots of the plant did possess anti-inflammatory properties in a laboratory setting on a similar level to the common drug indomethacin. [20] Other folk medicine applications for the plant include using it as an emollient, balsamic, laxative, and anti-rheumatic. [21]

While some authors believed that P. gentianoides was cultivated in Europe based on illustrations from several botanical magazines, the cultivated specimens were actually Penstemon hartwegii . [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Penstemon</i> Genus of plants

Penstemon, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

<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>Pinguicula moranensis</i> Perennial insectivorous herb in the family Lentibulariaceae

Pinguicula moranensis is a perennial rosette-forming insectivorous herb in the flowering plant family Lentibulariaceae. It is native to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. A species of butterwort, it forms summer rosettes of flat, succulent leaves up to 10 centimeters (4 in) long, which are covered in mucilaginous (sticky) glands that attract, trap, and digest arthropod prey. Nutrients derived from the prey are used to supplement the nutrient-poor substrate that the plant grows in. In the winter the plant forms a non-carnivorous rosette of small, fleshy leaves that conserves energy while food and moisture supplies are low. Single pink, purple, or violet flowers appear twice a year on upright stalks up to 25 centimeters long.

<i>Penstemon digitalis</i> Central North American species of penstemon

Penstemon digitalis is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The flowers are white and are borne in summer. According to Francis W. Pennell it is a native of the Mississippi basin and its occurances in Canada and the eastern United states are introductions. Because of this Penstemon digitalis is the most widespread species of Penstemon east of the Mississippi River.

<i>Salvia</i> Largest genus of plants in the mint family

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. One of several genera, commonly referred to as sage, it includes two widely used herbs, Salvia officinalis and Salvia rosmarinus.

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

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.

<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 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 penlandii</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon penlandii is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Penland penstemon and Penland's beardtongue. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from a strip of land about five miles long in central Grand County. There are two occurrences totalling about 8600 individuals. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Castilleja integra</i> Species of flowering plant

Castilleja integra, with the common names orange paintbrush, Southwestern paintbrush, and wholeleaf paintbrush, is a partially parasitic herbaceous perennial plant native to the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The species produces a relatively large amount of nectar and is attractive to hummingbirds. It is better suited to cultivation than most other species in the paintbrush genus (Castilleja) and is therefore used in xeriscape gardens and naturalistic meadows, even outside its native range.

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

Penstemon hartwegii, common name Hartweg's beardtongue, is a species of flowering perennial herb in the plantain family.

<i>Mabrya</i> Genus of flowering plants

Mabrya is a genus of flowering plants in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It consists of herbaceous perennials with brittle upright or drooping stems, found in dry areas of Mexico and the southern United States.

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

Penstemon comarrhenus is a perennial plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.

<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 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 albidus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon albidus, commonly known as white penstemon, white-flower beardtongue, or Red-Line Beardtongue is a very widespread perennial flower of the mixed-grass and shortgrass prairies. Its natural distribution is from Manitoba and Alberta in Canada to Texas and New Mexico in the United States. The bright white flowers for which they are named are quite attractive to both bees and hummingbird moths.

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

Penstemon secundiflorus, commonly known as sidebells penstemon, or orchid beardtoungue is a species of Penstemon that grows in dry forests, high plains, and scrub lands from Wyoming to Mexico. It is a herbaceous perennial plant that typically grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm and has narrow, lance-shaped leaves that are grayish-green in color. The flowers of the sidebells penstemon are tubular in shape and are arranged in a one-sided spike, with the blooms all facing the same direction, and for this reason was named "secundiflorus", which means "one-sided flowers". The flowers are most often delicate shades of orchid or lavender. It is sometimes used in xeriscaping, rock gardens, and wildflower meadows, and is well-suited to dry, sunny locations with well-draining soil.

<i>Penstemon teucrioides</i> Colorado endemic species of penstemon

Penstemon teucrioides, commonly known as grayleaf creeping penstemon, germander penstemon and germander beardtounge, is a perennial species of plant in the large and colorful Penstemon genus. It is a ground hugging plant that is native to just five counties in the mountains of Colorado. Though it has a very limited range it is widely grown in rock gardens.

<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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Penstemon gentianoides(Kunth) Poir.". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Straw 1962, p. 5.
  3. ↑ Straw 1962, p. 20.
  4. 1 2 3 Kunth 1817, p. 364.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cuvier 1825, p. 385.
  6. ↑ Dane et al. 2007, p. 227.
  7. 1 2 3 Domínguez et al. 2007, p. 1762.
  8. ↑ Domínguez et al. 2011, p. 119.
  9. ↑ Lodewick et al. 1991, p. 15.
  10. ↑ Ilieva 2023, p. 116.
  11. ↑ "Penstemon gentianoides (Kunth) Poir". USDA Plants Database. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  12. ↑ "Chelone gentianoidesKunth". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  13. ↑ Straw 1962, p. 13.
  14. ↑ Straw 1962, p. 2.
  15. ↑ Cardona et al. 2020, p. 11.
  16. 1 2 3 Salas-Arcos et al. 2018, p. 3.
  17. ↑ Salas-Arcos et al. 2017, p. 18.
  18. ↑ Salas-Arcos et al. 2017, p. 12.
  19. ↑ Salas-Arcos et al. 2017, p. 13.
  20. ↑ Domínguez et al. 2011, p. 123.
  21. ↑ Domínguez et al. 2011, p. 118.
  22. ↑ Straw 1962, p. 1.

Bibliography

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