Penstemon virgatus

A. Gray in W. H. Emory

Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 113. 1859.

Common names: Upright blue beardtongue
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 182. Mentioned on page 146, 157, 158, 165, 174, 183.

Stems erect, sometimes ascending, (12–) 20–65 (–90) cm, glabrous or puberulent, not glaucous. Leaves basal and cauline or, often, basal absent, not leathery, glabrous or puberulent, not or slightly glaucous; basal and proximal cauline (20–) 60–114 × (3–) 12–21 mm, blade oblanceolate or lanceolate, rarely linear, base tapered, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute; cauline 5–11 pairs, sessile, 40–118 × 3–17 mm, blade lanceolate, base tapered to truncate, apex obtuse to acute. Thyrses continuous, sometimes interrupted, secund, (3–) 6–40 cm, axis glabrous or retrorsely hairy, verticillasters (3–) 6–14, cymes 2–5-flowered, 2 per node; proximal bracts lanceolate to linear, 19–74 (–98) × 2–10 mm; peduncles and pedicels glabrous or retrorsely hairy. Flowers: calyx lobes ovate to elliptic, 2.2–5 × 1.3–2.2 mm, glabrous or puberulent; corolla violet to lavender, pink-lavender, or purple, with reddish purple nectar guides, ventricose, 17–27 mm, glabrous externally, sparsely white-villous, rarely glabrous, internally abaxially, tube 5–8 mm, throat gradually to abruptly inflated, slightly constricted at orifice, 6–8 mm diam., rounded abaxially; stamens: longer pair slightly exserted, pollen-sacs divergent to opposite, navicular, 1.5–1.8 mm, dehiscing completely or incompletely, connective splitting or not, sides glabrous, sutures smooth or papillate; staminode 12–14 mm, reaching orifice or exserted, 0.7–1.2 mm diam., tip straight, glabrous; style 13–15 mm. Capsules 9–14 × 4–8 mm.

Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Penstemon virgatus is treated here to include two essentially allopatric varieties. F. S. Crosswhite (1967c) circumscribed the species more broadly, including as subspecies two additional taxa treated here as species: P. pseudoputus and P. putus.

Whole plants or roots of Penstemon virgatus are used by the Ramah Navajo of western New Mexico as a medicine (D. E. Moerman 1998).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Stems puberulent; leaves ± puberulent. Penstemon virgatus var. virgatus
1 Stems glabrous; leaves glabrous. Penstemon virgatus var. asa-grayi

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

... more about "Penstemon virgatus"
obtuse +  and acute +
Craig C. Freeman +
A. Gray in W. H. Emory +
hairy +  and glabrous +
alternate +, opposite +, whorled +, helical +  and subopposite +
glaucous +, puberulent +  and glabrous +
not leathery +
tapered;truncate +
Penstemon +
lanceolate;lanceolate;oblanceolate +
not +  and leathery +
puberulent +  and glabrous +
ovate;elliptic +
1.3mm;2.2mm +
short-tubular +  and short-campanulate +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (11.8 cm118 mm <br />0.118 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (1.7 cm17 mm <br />0.017 m <br />) +
Upright blue beardtongue +
not personate +, weakly bilabiate +  and strongly bilabiate +
violet to lavender +
glabrous +  and white-villous +
ventricose +
ventricose-ampliate +
1.7 cm17 mm <br />0.017 m <br /> (2.7 cm27 mm <br />0.027 m <br />) +
2-5-flowered +
scale-like +  and not needlelike +
Ariz. +, Colo. +, N.Mex. +  and Wyo. +
drupe-like +
curved +  and straight +
1 +  and 4 +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
membranous +
terminal +  and axillary +
persistent +  and deciduous +
, +, cauline +  and basal +
orbiculate;linear;orbiculate;linear;truncate;oblanceolate;obovate;oblong;elliptic;round;lanceolate;ovate +
glutinous +
puberulent +, glandular-pubescent +  and glabrous +
lacerate +
axile +  and parietal +
basal +, apical +  and superior +
tenuinucellate +, unitegmic +  and hemitropous +
campylotropous +, hemianatropous +  and anatropous +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
spreading +, erect +  and ascending +
hairy +  and glabrous +
spreading;erect;ascending +
hairy +  and glabrous +
5 +  and 4 +
divergent +  and opposite +
sigmoid +  and navicular-sigmoid +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br />) +
1/5 +  and 1/3 +
7.4 cm74 mm <br />0.074 m <br /> (9.8 cm98 mm <br />0.098 m <br />) +
1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br /> (7.4 cm74 mm <br />0.074 m <br />) +
lanceolate +  and linear +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. +
minute +
tan +  and brown or dark-brown +
angled +  and angled-elongate +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
papillate +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (?) +  and 1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br /> (?) +
short-petiolate +  and petiolate +
65 cm650 mm <br />0.65 m <br /> (90 cm900 mm <br />0.9 m <br />) +
glutinous +
climbing +  and scrambling +
sprawling +, creeping +  and prostrate +
ascending;erect +
cauline +, proximal +  and basal +
not glaucous +, puberulent +  and glabrous +
reduced +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (65 cm650 mm <br />0.65 m <br />) +
not +  and leathery +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
papillate +  and smooth +
denticulate +
Penstemon subg. Habroanthus +
Penstemon virgatus +
Penstemon sect. Glabri +
species +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
rounded +  and inflated +
constricted +
secund +, interrupted +  and continuous +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
cylindric +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
straight +
smooth +  and papillate +
0.01 cm0.1 mm <br />1.0e-4 m <br /> (0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br />) +
gibbous +  and not spurred +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
petiolate +  and sessile +
cauline +  and proximal +