Penstemon debilis, the Parachute penstemon or Parachute beardtongue, is one of the rarest plants in North America, found only 5 places in the world, all of them located on the Roan Plateau in Garfield County, of Western Colorado. The Denver Botanic Gardens has the Parachute penstemon on display with other native plants of the Roan Plateau. The name Parachute comes from the small town in Colorado, Parachute, Colorado, close to where the plant can be found.
| Penstemon debilis | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Penstemon |
| Species: | P. debilis
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| Binomial name | |
| Penstemon debilis O'Kane & J.L.Anderson
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The plant is small and low to the ground. It has small green leaves and pale light-lavender flowers. It grows in steep slopes on shale, where little vegetation grows. The area is very arid and has sparse vegetation, containing sages, grasses and bushes.[1][2]
The Parachute penstemon has been identified to qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, but failed to be protected, due to large amounts of natural gas in the area. In 2004, the Center for Native Ecosystems, along with the Colorado Native Plant Society and two independent botanists formally requested protection. On July 27, 2011, the plant was federally listed as a threatened species of the United States, a ruling which took effect on August 26, 2011.[3]
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Penstemon debilis with fruits -
Flowering specimen
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References
edit- ^ Roskov Y., Kunze T., Orrell T., Abucay L., Paglinawan L., Culham A., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Decock W., De Wever A., Didžiulis V. (ed) (2014). "Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2014 Annual Checklist". Species 2000: Reading, UK. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World". Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
- ^ USFWS. Determination of Endangered Status for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa Skyrocket) and Threatened Status for Penstemon debilis (Parachute Beardtongue) and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque Phacelia); Final Rule.[permanent dead link] Federal Register July 27, 2011.