Penstemon ophianthus, the coiled anther penstemon, is a species of small perennial plant in the plantain family. It has very noticeable dark violet lines on its flowers over a lighter blue-lavender color. The species grows in the plateaus and canyon lands of western Colorado and New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Utah.
| Penstemon ophianthus | |
|---|---|
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| Flowering in Wayne County, Utah | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Penstemon |
| Species: | P. ophianthus
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| Binomial name | |
| Penstemon ophianthus Pennell, 1920
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Description
editPenstemon ophianthus is a small herbaceous plant that may be 10 to 40 centimeters tall, but is usually 13 to 36 cm. It may also have one or more stems that grow straight upwards or curve outwards and then upwards.[3] They have both cauline and basal leaves, leaves on its stems those growing directly from its base.[4] The above ground parts grow from a branched caudex atop a taproot.[5] It is long lived for a penstemon.[6]
The leaves are both cauline and basal, attached to the stems and directly to the base of the plant. The basal leaves and the lowest ones on the stems measure 1.6 to 12 centimeters long and 0.6 to 2.2 cm wide. They are oblanceolate in shape with edges that are smooth or sinuate-dentate, having rounded teeth and deep wavy indentations, and attached to the plant by a petiole. There are two to four pairs of cauline leaves with the upper ones much narrower, somewhat shorter, and directly attached to the stems or with just a short petiole.[3]
The inflorescence has the flowers more or less all facing to one side and four to nine groups of flowers with bracts 1.2–7 centimeters long under each. In each group there will be two cymes with between one and seven flowers, though usually at least three.[3] The flowers have a ground color of lavender, violet, or blue-violet with bold deep purple nectar guides on all the flower lobes. Very rarely, they may be white.[7] The flower is 14 to 22 millimeters long with an opening 7–11 mm in diameter that expands abruptly towards the front and is not constricted.[3] The flower's throat is white other than the purple nectar guides and covered in soft, white glandular hairs.[7] The staminode is obviously exserted, extending out of the flower's opening, and thickly covered in long yellow hairs. Blooming may be as early as the end of May or as late as the start of July.[4]
The fruits are dry capsules 6 to 11 millimeters in length and 5 to 6 mm broad. The seeds within are black to brown in color and angled, each about 1.5 to 4.8 mm.[3]
Penstemon jamesii is very similar in appearance, but it grows in eastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado, rather than in the west of these states, and is also found in Texas. The length of the corolla, the fused petals of the flower, is longer in P. jamesii, 24 mm or greater. On the other hand the corolla of Penstemon breviculus is usually shorter, usually less than 15 mm, though occasionally it will reach 18 mm. It also lacks glandular hairs within the flower's throat.[5]
Taxonomy
editPenstemon ophianthus was scientifically described and named by Francis W. Pennell in 1920.[2] The type specimen had been collected in 1894 by Marcus E. Jones near the Utah towns of Bicknell (then Thurber) and Loa.[8][9] However, it was identified at the time as Penstemon moffatti.[8] This species is closely related to Penstemon jamesii and Penstemon breviculus.[4] The Penstemon expert David D. Keck considered it to be subspecies of P. jamesii, though the ranges do not overlap and the length of fused petals is different.[6] More recently the botanists Ronald Lee Hartman and B.E. Nelson considered P. breviculus and Penstemon parviflorus to be synonyms of P. ophianthus.[4] Though as of 2024 they are not synonyms according to Plants of the World Online.[2]
Names
editThe species name, ophianthus, is a compound word from snake and flower.[4] In English it is known by the common name Loa penstemon or coiled anther penstemon.[10][11]
Range and habitat
editThe range of coiled anther penstemon is in the Four Corners region. It grows in much of northern Arizona all the way to Mohave County in the west. [12] In Utah this species is from the Colorado Plateau in the southeastern and south central part of the state.[6] Likewise it grows in western Colorado, though only as far north as Montrose County. It also grows in part of the northwest of New Mexico.[12] The elevation range extends down to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) and as high as 2,300 meters (7,500 ft).[3]
Plants most often grow in dry sandy loam, sandy, or gravelly soils. They also are strongly associated with red or black cinder soils near cinder cones.[13] However, they also grow on clay soils at times. They are associated with sagebrush steppes, pinyon-juniper woodlands, around Gamble oak groves, and ponderosa pine forests.[5]
Conservation
editThe conservation organization NatureServe evaluated Penstemon ophianthus in 1993, rating it vulnerable (G3). Their explanation was that it has a limited range and no abundance information. At the state level they also rated it as vulnerable (S3) in both Arizona and Colorado. In Utah they rated it as imperiled (S2).[1]
Ecology
editIn an experiment in a pinyon-juniper woodland within the Kaibab National Forest Penstemon ophianthus was absent in 2004, but was found at low levels in 2011 after a thinning and prescribed burn treatment.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b NatureServe (1 November 2024). "Penstemon ophianthus". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "Penstemon ophianthus Pennell". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Freeman, Craig C. (29 July 2020) [2019]. "Penstemon ophianthus". Flora of North America. p. 141. ISBN 978-0190868512. OCLC 1101573420. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Jr., Steve L.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. p. 722. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James L.; Holmgren, Patricia K. Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A.. Vol. 4. Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae) (First ed.). Bronx, New York: New York Botanical Garden. pp. 410–412. ISBN 978-0-231-04120-1. OCLC 320442. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "Penstemon ophianthus". Wolfe Lab Penstemon Database. Ohio State University. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b Heflin, Jean (1997). Penstemons : The Beautiful Beardtongues of New Mexico. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Jackrabbit Press. p. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-9659693-0-7. LCCN 98111240. OCLC 39050925. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b Pennell, Francis W. (29 April 1920). "Scrophulariaceae of the Central Rocky Mountain States". Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. 20: 343–344. ISSN 0097-1618. JSTOR 23492247. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C. (1987). A Utah Flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs, No. 9 (First ed.). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. p. 594. JSTOR 23377658. OCLC 9986953694. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Duri, Anne (2015). Sandstone Country Wildflowers : The Red Shoe Guide. [place of publication not identified]: [Red Shoe Guides]. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-692-42527-5. OCLC 1285759622. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Coiled Anther Penstemon". Encyclopedia of Life. National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b Penstemon ophianthus, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Profile, 18 November 2024
- ^ Abella, Scott R.; Covington, W. Wallace (August 2006). "Vegetation–environment relationships and ecological species groups of an Arizona Pinus ponderosa landscape, USA". Plant Ecology. 185 (2): 265. doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9102-y. JSTOR 20146958.
- ^ Huffman, D.W.; Stoddard, M.T.; Springer, J.D.; Crouse, J.E.; Chancellor, W.W. (February 2013). "Understory plant community responses to hazardous fuels reduction treatments in pinyon-juniper woodlands of Arizona, USA". Forest Ecology and Management. 289: 478–488. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.09.030.