Penstemon centranthifolius |
Penstemon digitalis |
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scarlet bugler |
foxglove beard-tongue, penstémon digitale, tall white beardtongue, talus slope penstemon |
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Habit | Herbs. | |
Stems | ascending to erect, 30–120 cm, glaucous. |
erect, 25–90 cm, glabrous or sparsely retrorsely hairy, slightly glaucous or not. |
Leaves | glabrous, glaucous; cauline 5–11 pairs, short-petiolate or sessile, 40–100 × 10–40 mm, blade ovate to lanceolate, base tapered to auriculate-clasping, margins entire, apex rounded to acute. |
basal and cauline, basal sometimes withering by anthesis, not leathery, glabrous; basal and proximal cauline 30–180(–250) × 4–38(–70) mm, blade spatulate to obovate or lanceolate, base tapered, margins entire or ± serrate or denticulate, apex rounded to obtuse or acute; cauline 5–8 pairs, petiolate or sessile, 26–195 × 4–55 mm, blade ovate to lanceolate, base tapered to clasping, margins entire or denticulate, apex acuminate to acute. |
Thyrses | interrupted, secund to ± cylindric, 15–60(–100) cm, axis glabrous or obscurely scabrous, verticillasters 8–18(–22), cymes 1–5(–11)-flowered; proximal bracts ovate to lanceolate, (3–)7–25(–87) × (1–)3–14(–30) mm; peduncles and pedicels erect, glabrous or obscurely scabrous. |
interrupted, conic, 7–26(–34) cm, axis glabrous proximally, sparsely to densely glandular-pubescent distally, verticillasters (2 or)3–6, cymes (3–)5–12(–18)-flowered, 2 per node; proximal bracts lanceolate to linear, 9–105 × 1–40 mm, margins entire, sometimes serrulate; peduncles and pedicels spreading to ascending, sparsely glandular-pubescent. |
Flowers | calyx lobes ovate to lanceolate, 3–6 × 2–3 mm, margins erose, glabrous; corolla scarlet, without nectar guides, nearly radially symmetric, weakly bilabiate, salverform, 25–33 mm, glabrous externally, glabrous internally, tube 8–10 mm, throat slightly inflated, 4.5–6 mm diam., rounded abaxially; stamens: longer pair reaching orifice, pollen sacs explanate, 0.9–1.2 mm, sutures smooth; staminode 13–14 mm, terete to slightly flattened distally, 0.1–0.3 mm diam., tip straight, glabrous; style 18–27 mm, exserted. |
calyx lobes ovate, sometimes lanceolate, 4–8 × 2–3 mm, apex acute to acuminate, glandular-pubescent; corolla white, sometimes tinged lavender, with reddish purple nectar guides, ventricose, (17–)20–30 mm, glandular-pubescent externally, sparsely to moderately white-pubescent internally abaxially, tube 6–9 mm, throat abruptly inflated, 8–12 mm diam., slightly 2-ridged abaxially; stamens included or longer pair reaching orifice, pollen sacs opposite, navicular, 1.4–1.7 mm, dehiscing completely, connective splitting, sides sparsely pubescent, hairs white or purplish, to 0.6 mm, rarely glabrous, sutures papillate; staminode 13–17 mm, reaching orifice, 0.3–0.4 mm diam., tip straight to slightly recurved, distal 6–8 mm sparsely to moderately villous, hairs yellowish, to 1.5(–2) mm; style 13–18 mm. |
Capsules | 8–11 × 6–7 mm. |
8–14 × 4–6 mm, glabrous. |
2n | = 16. |
= 96. |
Penstemon centranthifolius |
Penstemon digitalis |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Jul. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Hillsides, chaparral, oak, pinyon-juniper, and Joshua tree woodlands, coastal sage scrub, pine forests. | Prairies, meadows, roadsides, clearings in woods. |
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) | 10–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; QC
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Discussion | Penstemon ×parishii A. Gray, a naturally occurring hybrid between P. centranthifolius and P. spectabilis (A. D. Wolfe and W. J. Elisens 1993), has been reported from Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties, California (D. D. Keck 1937; Paul Wilson and M. Valenzuela 2002). A wild hybrid between P. centranthifolius and P. eatonii also was reported from San Bernardino County, California (Wilson and Valenzuela). Penstemon ×dubius Davidson was described from Mount Lowe in the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, growing with P. centranthifolius and P. grinnellii. Hybridization between P. centranthifolius and P. grinnellii has been documented using allozyme and DNA data (Wolfe and Elisens 1993, 1994). Three southern and central Californian tribes of Native Americans used Penstemon centranthifolius for drugs, food, and decorations (D. E. Moerman 1998). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Penstemon digitalis appears to be native in the central Mississippi River Basin, with human activities expanding its range, particularly eastward (F. W. Pennell 1935). It is listed in VASCAN as introduced in the four Canadian provinces where it occurs (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/7273). Plants resembling Penstemon digitalis but with smaller corollas (17–23 mm versus 23–30 mm), less glandular-pubescent inflorescences, less scarious-margined calyx lobes, and stems sometimes puberulent (versus glabrous) have been named P. alluviorum. Plants with those features come mostly from the southeastern Central Lowlands and north-central Coastal Plain provinces in the eastern United States in the south-central part of the range of P. digitalis (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee). A. C. Koelling (1964) observed overlap in characters used to distinguish P. alluviorum from P. digitalis and concluded it was a small-flowered variant of P. digitalis. Specimens of Penstemon digitalis with lanceolate and acuminate-tipped calyx lobes can be mistaken for P. calycosus, but calyx lobe length and, usually, the presence of hairs on the pollen sacs allow them to be accurately identified. Penstemon digitalis is widely cultivated and spreads readily. R. R. Clinebell and P. Bernhardt (1998) found evidence that plants are self-compatible. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 151. | FNA vol. 17, p. 202. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Gentianoides | Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Penstemon |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Chelone centranthifolia | P. alluviorum |
Name authority | (Bentham) Bentham: Scroph. Ind., 7. (1835) — (as Pentstemon centranthifolium) | Nuttall ex Sims: Bot. Mag. 52: plate 2587. (1825) — (as Pentstemon) |
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