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mucronate penstemon, sheep creek beardtongue

Bear River Range beardtongue, compact penstemon

Stems

ascending to erect, 10–35(–46) cm, glabrous.

decumbent to ascending, 8–26 cm, glabrous, not glaucous.

Leaves

basal and cauline, glabrous;

basal and proximal cauline 23–65(–100) × (9–)13–40 mm, blade oblanceolate, base tapered, apex rounded to obtuse or acute;

cauline (2–)4–6(–9) pairs, sessile, (8–)20–30 × 8–26 mm, blade ovate to orbiculate, base clasping, apex mucronate.

basal and cauline, ± leathery or not, glabrous, not glaucous;

basal and proximal cauline (15–)20–110 × (3–)6–14(–25) mm, blade oblanceolate, base tapered, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute;

cauline (1 or)2 or 3 pairs, sessile or proximals short-petiolate, 13–55 × 5–14 mm, blade oblanceolate to lanceolate, base tapered, apex obtuse to acute.

Thyrses

interrupted, cylindric, (2–)11–18(–27) cm, axis glabrous, verticillasters 6–9(–15), cymes 2–6-flowered;

proximal bracts orbiculate to ovate, 7–28 × 3–26 mm;

peduncles and pedicels glabrous.

continuous, cylindric to secund, 2–13 cm, axis glabrous or glandular-pubescent, verticillasters 2 or 3(–5), cymes 1–7-flowered, 2 per node;

proximal bracts lanceolate to oblong, 10–45 × 4–18 mm, apex acute;

peduncles and pedicels glabrous or ± glandular-pubescent, peduncles to 7 mm, pedicels 1–4 mm.

Flowers

calyx lobes ovate, (3–)4.5–6.5 × 1.5–2.3 mm, margins entire or erose, broadly scarious, glabrous;

corolla blue to violet, with reddish violet nectar guides, guides sometimes passing onto limb, tubular-funnelform, (10–)13–17(–20) mm, glabrous externally, sparsely white-villous internally abaxially, tube (5–)7–10 mm, throat gradually inflated, 4.5–5.5(–7) mm diam., rounded abaxially;

stamens included or longer pair reaching orifice, pollen sacs divergent to opposite, 0.7–1.1 mm, sutures papillate;

staminode 7–13 mm, reaching orifice, (0.6–)0.9–1.9 mm diam., tip strongly recurved, distal 2–5 mm moderately to densely pilose, hairs brownish yellow or golden yellow, to 1 mm;

style (7–)9–12 mm.

calyx lobes lanceolate, 5.5–8 × 1.5–2 mm, margins erose, glabrous or ± glandular-pubescent;

corolla blue to violet, without nectar guides, ventricose, 18–25 mm, glabrous externally, glabrous internally, tube 5–7 mm, throat gradually inflated, not constricted at orifice, 6–10 mm diam., 2-ridged abaxially;

stamens: longer pair exserted, pollen sacs divergent, navicular, 1.3–1.8 mm, dehiscing incompletely, proximal 1/3 indehiscent, connective not splitting, sides moderately pubescent to villous, hairs white, to 0.7 mm, sutures denticulate, teeth to 0.1 mm;

staminode 10–12 mm, included, 0.5–0.6 mm diam., tip straight, glabrous or distal 1–3 mm sparsely pilose, hairs yellow or white, to 0.5 mm;

style 14–17 mm.

Capsules

8–10 × 6–7 mm.

5–7.5 × 4–5 mm.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Penstemon mucronatus

Penstemon compactus

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Sandy or gravelly soils, juniper and pinyon-juniper woodlands. Rocky, subalpine openings.
Elevation 1500–2500 m. (4900–8200 ft.) 2000–2900 m. (6600–9500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
ID; UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Penstemon mucronatus is known from Moffat and Rio Blanco counties, Colorado, Daggett and Uintah counties, Utah, and Carbon and Sweetwater counties, Wyoming. E. C. Neese (1993) considered it transitional to P. pachyphyllus var. pachyphyllus in northeastern Utah and treated it as a variety of that species. The two taxa often have similar leaf morphologies; P. mucronatus usually is easily distinguished from P. pachyphyllus var. pachyphyllus by its narrower staminode bearing shorter, less tangled hairs at the apex and nectar guides that extend onto the corolla limbs. Flowers of P. mucronatus are in many respects more similar to those of P. osterhoutii than they are to those of P. pachyphyllus. A chromosome count reported for P. pachyphyllus by F. S. Crosswhite and S. Kawano (1965) is referable to P. mucronatus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Penstemon compactus is found in the northern Wasatch Range in Franklin County, Idaho, and Cache County, Utah.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 121. FNA vol. 17, p. 163.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Coerulei Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Glabri
Sibling taxa
P. abietinus, P. absarokensis, P. acaulis, P. acuminatus, P. alamosensis, P. albertinus, P. albidus, P. albomarginatus, P. ambiguus, P. ammophilus, P. anguineus, P. angustifolius, P. arenarius, P. arenicola, P. aridus, P. arkansanus, P. attenuatus, P. atwoodii, P. auriberbis, P. australis, P. azureus, P. baccharifolius, P. barbatus, P. barnebyi, P. barrettiae, P. bicolor, P. bleaklyi, P. bracteatus, P. breviculus, P. brevisepalus, P. buckleyi, P. caesius, P. caespitosus, P. calcareus, P. californicus, P. calycosus, P. canescens, P. cardinalis, P. cardwellii, P. carnosus, P. caryi, P. centranthifolius, P. cinicola, P. clevelandii, P. clutei, P. cobaea, P. comarrhenus, P. compactus, P. concinnus, P. confertus, P. confusus, P. crandallii, P. cusickii, P. cyananthus, P. cyaneus, P. cyanocaulis, P. cyathophorus, P. dasyphyllus, P. davidsonii, P. deamii, P. deaveri, P. debilis, P. degeneri, P. deustus, P. digitalis, P. diphyllus, P. discolor, P. dissectus, P. distans, P. dolius, P. duchesnensis, P. eatonii, P. elegantulus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. flavescens, P. floribundus, P. floridus, P. flowersii, P. franklinii, P. fremontii, P. fruticiformis, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. gibbensii, P. glaber, P. glandulosus, P. glaucinus, P. globosus, P. goodrichii, P. gormanii, P. gracilentus, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. grandiflorus, P. griffinii, P. grinnellii, P. guadalupensis, P. hallii, P. harbourii, P. harringtonii, P. havardii, P. haydenii, P. heterodoxus, P. heterophyllus, P. hirsutus, P. humilis, P. idahoensis, P. immanifestus, P. incertus, P. inflatus, P. jamesii, P. janishiae, P. kingii, P. kralii, P. labrosus, P. laetus, P. laevigatus, P. laevis, P. lanceolatus, P. laricifolius, P. laxiflorus, P. laxus, P. leiophyllus, P. lemhiensis, P. lentus, P. leonardii, P. linarioides, P. longiflorus, P. lyallii, P. marcusii, P. mensarum, P. metcalfei, P. miser, P. moffatii, P. monoensis, P. montanus, P. moriahensis, P. multiflorus, P. murrayanus, P. nanus, P. navajoa, P. neomexicanus, P. neotericus, P. newberryi, P. nitidus, P. nudiflorus, P. oklahomensis, P. oliganthus, P. ophianthus, P. osterhoutii, P. ovatus, P. pachyphyllus, P. pahutensis, P. pallidus, P. palmeri, P. papillatus, P. parryi, P. parvulus, P. parvus, P. patens, P. payettensis, P. paysoniorum, P. peckii, P. penlandii, P. pennellianus, P. perpulcher, P. personatus, P. petiolatus, P. pinifolius, P. pinorum, P. platyphyllus, P. pratensis, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. pseudoputus, P. pseudospectabilis, P. pudicus, P. pumilus, P. purpusii, P. putus, P. radicosus, P. rattanii, P. retrorsus, P. rhizomatosus, P. richardsonii, P. roezlii, P. rostriflorus, P. rubicundus, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. saxosorum, P. scapoides, P. scariosus, P. secundiflorus, P. seorsus, P. sepalulus, P. serrulatus, P. smallii, P. spatulatus, P. speciosus, P. spectabilis, P. stenophyllus, P. stephensii, P. strictiformis, P. strictus, P. subglaber, P. subserratus, P. subulatus, P. sudans, P. superbus, P. tenuiflorus, P. tenuis, P. teucrioides, P. thompsoniae, P. thurberi, P. tidestromii, P. tiehmii, P. tracyi, P. triflorus, P. triphyllus, P. tubaeflorus, P. uintahensis, P. utahensis, P. venustus, P. virens, P. virgatus, P. wardii, P. washingtonensis, P. watsonii, P. whippleanus, P. wilcoxii, P. wrightii, P. xylus, P. yampaënsis
P. abietinus, P. absarokensis, P. acaulis, P. acuminatus, P. alamosensis, P. albertinus, P. albidus, P. albomarginatus, P. ambiguus, P. ammophilus, P. anguineus, P. angustifolius, P. arenarius, P. arenicola, P. aridus, P. arkansanus, P. attenuatus, P. atwoodii, P. auriberbis, P. australis, P. azureus, P. baccharifolius, P. barbatus, P. barnebyi, P. barrettiae, P. bicolor, P. bleaklyi, P. bracteatus, P. breviculus, P. brevisepalus, P. buckleyi, P. caesius, P. caespitosus, P. calcareus, P. californicus, P. calycosus, P. canescens, P. cardinalis, P. cardwellii, P. carnosus, P. caryi, P. centranthifolius, P. cinicola, P. clevelandii, P. clutei, P. cobaea, P. comarrhenus, P. concinnus, P. confertus, P. confusus, P. crandallii, P. cusickii, P. cyananthus, P. cyaneus, P. cyanocaulis, P. cyathophorus, P. dasyphyllus, P. davidsonii, P. deamii, P. deaveri, P. debilis, P. degeneri, P. deustus, P. digitalis, P. diphyllus, P. discolor, P. dissectus, P. distans, P. dolius, P. duchesnensis, P. eatonii, P. elegantulus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. flavescens, P. floribundus, P. floridus, P. flowersii, P. franklinii, P. fremontii, P. fruticiformis, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. gibbensii, P. glaber, P. glandulosus, P. glaucinus, P. globosus, P. goodrichii, P. gormanii, P. gracilentus, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. grandiflorus, P. griffinii, P. grinnellii, P. guadalupensis, P. hallii, P. harbourii, P. harringtonii, P. havardii, P. haydenii, P. heterodoxus, P. heterophyllus, P. hirsutus, P. humilis, P. idahoensis, P. immanifestus, P. incertus, P. inflatus, P. jamesii, P. janishiae, P. kingii, P. kralii, P. labrosus, P. laetus, P. laevigatus, P. laevis, P. lanceolatus, P. laricifolius, P. laxiflorus, P. laxus, P. leiophyllus, P. lemhiensis, P. lentus, P. leonardii, P. linarioides, P. longiflorus, P. lyallii, P. marcusii, P. mensarum, P. metcalfei, P. miser, P. moffatii, P. monoensis, P. montanus, P. moriahensis, P. mucronatus, P. multiflorus, P. murrayanus, P. nanus, P. navajoa, P. neomexicanus, P. neotericus, P. newberryi, P. nitidus, P. nudiflorus, P. oklahomensis, P. oliganthus, P. ophianthus, P. osterhoutii, P. ovatus, P. pachyphyllus, P. pahutensis, P. pallidus, P. palmeri, P. papillatus, P. parryi, P. parvulus, P. parvus, P. patens, P. payettensis, P. paysoniorum, P. peckii, P. penlandii, P. pennellianus, P. perpulcher, P. personatus, P. petiolatus, P. pinifolius, P. pinorum, P. platyphyllus, P. pratensis, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. pseudoputus, P. pseudospectabilis, P. pudicus, P. pumilus, P. purpusii, P. putus, P. radicosus, P. rattanii, P. retrorsus, P. rhizomatosus, P. richardsonii, P. roezlii, P. rostriflorus, P. rubicundus, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. saxosorum, P. scapoides, P. scariosus, P. secundiflorus, P. seorsus, P. sepalulus, P. serrulatus, P. smallii, P. spatulatus, P. speciosus, P. spectabilis, P. stenophyllus, P. stephensii, P. strictiformis, P. strictus, P. subglaber, P. subserratus, P. subulatus, P. sudans, P. superbus, P. tenuiflorus, P. tenuis, P. teucrioides, P. thompsoniae, P. thurberi, P. tidestromii, P. tiehmii, P. tracyi, P. triflorus, P. triphyllus, P. tubaeflorus, P. uintahensis, P. utahensis, P. venustus, P. virens, P. virgatus, P. wardii, P. washingtonensis, P. watsonii, P. whippleanus, P. wilcoxii, P. wrightii, P. xylus, P. yampaënsis
Synonyms P. pachyphyllus var. mucronatus P. cyananthus subsp. compactus
Name authority N. H. Holmgren: Brittonia 31: 234, fig. 10. (1979) (D. D. Keck) Crosswhite: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 77: 6. (1967)
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