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cliff beardtongue, cliff penstemon, rock penstemon

Owens Valley beardtongue, Owens Valley penstemon

Habit Subshrubs, cespitose.
Stems

ascending to erect, 3–16 cm, puberulent to pubescent, not glaucous.

erect, 3–40(–44) cm, glaucous.

Leaves

persistent, 3–8 pairs, distals usually distinctly smaller than proximals, short-petiolate or sessile, 4–22 × 3–14 mm, blade round to elliptic or spatulate, base tapered to cuneate, margins ± serrate, apex rounded to obtuse, rarely acute, glabrous or hairy, usually glaucous.

glabrous or obscurely scabrous, especially along margins, glaucous;

basal and proximal cauline (25–)30–60 × 5–10(–14) mm, blade oblanceolate, base tapered, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes mucronate;

cauline 2 or 3 pairs, sessile, 15–50(–57) × 2–8(–12) mm, blade lanceolate to linear, base tapered, margins entire, apex acute.

Thyrses

continuous, ± secund, 1–3 cm, axis hairy proximally, pubescent or glandular-pubescent distally, verticillasters 1–3, cymes 1-flowered;

proximal bracts elliptic to ovate, 3–9 × 2–6 mm;

peduncles and pedicels ascending to erect, glandular-pubescent.

± interrupted, cylindric to ± secund, (2–)3–25(–30) cm, axis glabrous, verticillasters 3–10, cymes 1–5-flowered;

proximal bracts lanceolate, 7–30(–50) × 3–12 mm;

peduncles and pedicels ascending to erect, glabrous.

Flowers

calyx lobes lanceolate-elliptic to oblong, 6–11 × 2–2.8 mm, glandular-pubescent;

corolla pink to red, pinkish lavender, or rose red, essentially unlined internally but abaxial ridges usually white, not personate, funnelform, 25–36 mm, glabrous externally, glabrous internally or sparsely white-lanate abaxially, tube 8–12 mm, throat 6–8 mm diam.;

stamens: longer pair exserted, pollen sacs 1–1.5 mm;

staminode 13–15 mm, slightly flattened distally, 0.1 mm diam., tip straight, glabrous or distal 1–2 mm sparsely villous, hairs yellow, to 0.8 mm;

style 26–30 mm.

calyx lobes ovate to obovate, rarely elliptic, (3.5–)4–6 × 1.8–3 mm, margins entire or erose, glabrous;

corolla violet or reddish violet to purple, with reddish or reddish purple nectar guides, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate, tubular-funnelform, 14–18(–20) mm, glabrous or glandular-pubescent externally, glabrous or glandular-pubescent internally, tube 6–8 mm, throat gradually inflated, 6–7 mm diam., rounded or slightly 2-ridged abaxially;

stamens included, pollen sacs navicular, sometimes explanate, 0.9–1.2 mm, sutures smooth or papillate;

staminode 8–9 mm, flattened distally, 0.5–0.6 mm diam., tip recurved, distal 1–2 mm papillate, papillae golden yellow, to 0.2 mm, rarely glabrous;

style 10–12 mm.

Capsules

7–9 × 5–7 mm.

8–11 × 4–6 mm.

2n

= 16.

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon confusus

Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Cliffs, rock outcrops. Gravelly, often calcareous, soils, sagebrush shrublands, pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Elevation 60–2400 m. (200–7900 ft.) 1700–2200 m. (5600–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Penstemon rupicola occurs largely in the Siskiyou Mountains and Cascade Range from northern California to northern Washington. It is partly sympatric with and forms hybrids with P. cardwellii, P. davidsonii var. davidsonii, and P. fruticosus var. fruticosus (A. D. Every 1977). Hybrids between P. rupicola and P. davidsonii var. davidsonii are encountered frequently in the vicinity of Crater Lake National Park and Mt. Hood (Every).

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

Penstemon confusus is known from northwestern Arizona, east-central Nevada, and southeastern Utah. The species is barely sympatric with P. utahensis in Lincoln County, Nevada, and Washington County, Utah.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 92. FNA vol. 17, p. 152.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Dasanthera > sect. Erianthera Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Gentianoides
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. 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. 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. compactus, P. concinnus, P. confertus, 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. newberryi var. rupicola
Name authority (Piper) Howell: Fl. N.W. Amer., 510. (1901) — (as Pentstemon) M. E. Jones: Zoë 4: 280. (1893) — (as Pentstemon)
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