Penstemon glaber |
Penstemon glaber var. brandegeei |
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sawsepal penstemon, southern smooth beardtongue, western smooth beardtongue |
Brandegee's penstemon |
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Stems | ascending, (10–)50–65(–80) cm, glabrous or puberulent to pubescent, not glaucous. |
puberulent to pubescent proximally. |
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Leaves | basal and cauline, or basal absent or reduced, not leathery, glabrous or puberulent to pubescent, not glaucous; basal and proximal cauline 20–80(–155) × 5–20(–45) mm, blade obovate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, base tapered, margins entire, usually undulate, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes mucronate; cauline (2 or)3–6(–8) pairs, sessile, 27–120(–150) × (6–)22–35(–43) mm, blade lanceolate, base truncate to cordate, apex obtuse to acute. |
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Thyrses | continuous, secund, (3–)6–26(–30) cm, axis glabrous or puberulent, verticillasters (3–)5–12, cymes 2–4-flowered, 2 per node; proximal bracts ovate to lanceolate, 14–100 × 2–36 mm; peduncles and pedicels glabrous or puberulent, peduncles to 71 mm, pedicels 4–14 mm. |
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Flowers | calyx lobes ovate to orbiculate, 2–11 × 1.3–5.5 mm, glabrous or puberulent; corolla blue to violet, with reddish purple nectar guides, ventricose, 24–48 mm, glabrous externally, glabrous internally or sparsely to moderately white-lanate internally abaxially, tube 5–12 mm, throat gradually inflated, slightly constricted at orifice, 8–13(–18) mm diam., rounded abaxially; stamens included or longer pair reaching orifice, pollen sacs divergent, navicular, 1.4–2.5(–2.8) mm, dehiscing incompletely, connective not splitting, sides sparsely to moderately hirsute, hairs white or tan, to 0.5 mm, rarely glabrous, sutures denticulate, teeth to 0.2 mm; staminode (15–)18–22 mm, included or barely exserted, 0.6–1.3 mm diam., tip straight to recurved, rounded to distinctly bifurcate at apex, glabrous or distal 1–2 mm sparsely lanate, hairs pale yellow, to 1.5 mm; style 18–20 mm. |
calyx lobes ovate to orbiculate, (4–)5–11 × 1.8–5.5 mm, apex long-acuminate; corolla 27–48 mm, glabrous internally or sparsely white-lanate internally abaxially; staminode apex usually bifurcate. |
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Capsules | 10–17 × 5–8 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Penstemon glaber |
Penstemon glaber var. brandegeei |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||||||
Habitat | Sandy or gravelly foothills, mountains. | |||||||||
Elevation | 1800–2100 m. (5900–6900 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CO; MT; ND; NE; NM; SD; WY
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CO; NM |
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). The Penstemon glaber complex has been treated with as many as four species (F. W. Pennell 1920b) or one variable species as treated herein. M. K. W. Latady (1985) found clinal variation in most morphologic characters used to distinguish taxa in the complex and recognized only one species and two varieties: var. glaber (including var. alpinus) in the plains and mountains from southeastern Montana south to central Colorado; and var. brandegeei, in the mountains from central Colorado south to north-central New Mexico. A case for recognizing var. alpinus, as is done here, can be made on morphological, phenological, and ecological grounds. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety brandegeei is known from Costilla, Custer, El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, and Pueblo counties in south-central Colorado, and Colfax and Union counties in northeastern New Mexico. G. T. Nisbet and R. C. Jackson (1960) reported hybrids between it and var. alpinus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 167. | FNA vol. 17, p. 169. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Glabri | Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Glabri > Penstemon glaber | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | P. cyananthus var. brandegeei, P. alpinus subsp. brandegeei | |||||||||
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 738. (1813) — (as Pentstemon glabra) | (Porter) C. C. Freeman: Phytologia 60: 105. (1986) — (as brandegei) | ||||||||
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