Penstemon auriberbis

Pennell

Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 20: 339. 1920.

Common names: Colorado beardtongue
IllustratedEndemic
Synonyms: Penstemon parviflorus Pennell
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 129. Mentioned on page 125, 126, 130.

Stems ascending to erect, 10–30 (–35) cm, retrorsely hairy proximally, glandular-pubescent distally. Leaves basal and cauline, not leathery, glabrous, puberulent, or retrorsely hairy; basal and proximal cauline petiolate, (15–) 30–60 (–100) × (1–) 2–5 (–7) mm, blade lanceolate to linear, base tapered, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute; cauline 2–6 pairs, sessile, (25–) 40–80 × 2–7 mm, blade lanceolate to linear, base tapered to slightly clasping, margins entire or obscurely denticulate, apex acute to acuminate. Thyrses continuous or interrupted, cylindric or slightly secund, (5–) 7–23 cm, axis glandular-pubescent, verticillasters 3–8, cymes 2–4-flowered, 2 per node; proximal bracts lanceolate to linear, 18–100 × 2–12 mm; peduncles and pedicels glandular-pubescent. Flowers: calyx lobes ovate to lanceolate, (6–) 7–9 × 1–2 mm, densely glandular-pubescent; corolla violet to lilac or pinkish blue, with magenta or violet nectar guides, weakly bilabiate, tubular-funnelform, (16–) 18–22 (–24) mm, moderately white-pilose internally abaxially, tube 4–6 mm, throat gradually inflated, not constricted at orifice, 7–9 mm diam., rounded abaxially; stamens included, pollen-sacs divergent, navicular, 1.2–1.5 mm, dehiscing incompletely, connective not splitting, sutures papillate; staminode 13–16 mm, reaching orifice or exserted, 0.6–0.9 mm diam., tip recurved, distal 10–15 mm moderately to densely villous, hairs orangish, to 2.5 mm; style 11–14 mm. Capsules (6–) 8–10 × 3–4 mm. 2n = 16.


Phenology: Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat: Silty or gravelly soils, shortgrass prairies, sagebrush shrublands.
Elevation: 1200–2500 m.

Discussion

Penstemon auriberbis is known from Chaffee, Costilla, Custer, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, and Pueblo counties, Colorado, and Colfax and Union counties, New Mexico. The species is unique in sect. Cristati in having incompletely dehiscing anthers.

Penstemon parviflorus is known only from the type locality in Montezuma County, Colorado (S. L. O’Kane 1988). A report for McKinley County, New Mexico, has not been confirmed. The type was collected July 1890 by Alice Eastwood, reputedly near Mancos, Colorado. F. W. Pennell (1920b) distinguished P. parviflorus from the more eastern P. auriberbis primarily by the former’s shorter corollas, longer calyx lobes, and more slender stems. D. D. Keck (1938) observed that the type specimen has whorled cauline leaves, which Pennell did not mention in his description, and Keck suggested that P. parviflorus might be a genetically aberrant individual of P. auriberbis that was accidentally introduced into Montezuma County. Whorled cauline leaves are not uncommon in P. auriberbis, and they occur rarely in other species in sect. Cristati. Penstemon parviflorus appears to be P. auriberbis, and the type specimen actually may have come from south-central Colorado; Eastwood collected P. auriberbis in Pueblo County in 1891.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"/4+timescorollathroat" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Penstemon auriberbis"
acute +  and acuminate +
Craig C. Freeman +
Pennell +
glandular-pubescent +
alternate +, opposite +, whorled +, helical +  and subopposite +
tapered;tapered +
Penstemon +
lanceolate;linear +
not +  and leathery +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
glandular-pubescent +
ovate;lanceolate +
short-tubular +  and short-campanulate +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
glandular-pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
Colorado beardtongue +
2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br /> (2.4 cm24 mm <br />0.024 m <br />) +
violet +  and lilac or pinkish blue +
white-pilose +
tubular-funnelform +
ampliate +
1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br /> (2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br />) +
2-4-flowered +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
scale-like +  and not needlelike +
Colo. +  and N.Mex. +
drupe-like +
1200–2500 m. +
curved +  and straight +
1 +  and 4 +
Silty or gravelly soils, shortgrass prairies, sagebrush shrublands. +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
membranous +
terminal +  and axillary +
short-petiolate +, sessile +  and petiolate +
whorled +  and opposite +
persistent +  and deciduous +
basal +  and cauline +
hairy +, puberulent +  and glabrous +
not leathery +
orbiculate;linear;orbiculate;linear;truncate;oblanceolate;obovate;oblong;elliptic;round;lanceolate;ovate +
glabrous +, puberulent +, hairy +, scabrous +, glandular-villous +  and glandular-pubescent +
denticulate +  and entire +
scarious +  and herbaceous +
violet +  and magenta +
axile +  and parietal +
basal +, apical +  and superior +
tenuinucellate +, unitegmic +  and hemitropous +
campylotropous +, hemianatropous +  and anatropous +
ascending +  and erect +
glandular-pubescent +
ascending;erect +
glandular-pubescent +
5 +  and 4 +
Flowering May–Aug. +
navicular-sigmoid +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
1/5 +  and 1/2 +
1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
lanceolate +  and linear +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. +
minute +
black +, dark-brown +  and brown +
angled +  and reniform or slightly rounded +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.48 cm4.8 mm <br />0.0048 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br />) +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (?) +  and 1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br /> (?) +
subalternate +, alternate +, whorled +  and opposite +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (35 cm350 mm <br />0.35 m <br />) +
climbing +  and scrambling +
sprawling +, creeping +  and prostrate +
ascending;erect +
glandular-pubescent +  and hairy +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
glandular-pubescent +  and glabrous +
1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
papillate +
denticulate +
Penstemon parviflorus +
Penstemon auriberbis +
Penstemon sect. Cristati +
species +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
rounded +  and inflated +
not constricted +
secund +, interrupted +  and continuous +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
cylindric +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (23 cm230 mm <br />0.23 m <br />) +
straight +
gibbous +  and not spurred +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
cauline +  and proximal +
acaulescent +  and caulescent +