Penstemon rostriflorus
| Penstemon rostriflorus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Penstemon |
| Species: | P. rostriflorus
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| Binomial name | |
| Penstemon rostriflorus | |
| Synonyms | |
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Penstemon rostriflorus is a species of penstemon known as beak-flowered penstemon or beaked penstemon from the southwestern United States and Baja California.
Description
[edit]The beak-flowered penstemon resembles a small shrub and has stems that are woody near the base with many leaves.[2] The stems can reach 24 to 100 centimeters (9.5 to 39.5 in), but usually are taller than 30 cm (12 in).[3] The stems can be hairless or vaguely hairy with some plants hairless at near the base and covered in glandular hairs towards the ends.[4]
Almost all its leaves are attached to the stems,[4] though they are more numerous lower down on woody parts of the plant.[2] The few basal leaves and the lower ones on the stems are 2–5.2 cm (0.8–2.0 in) long, but just 3–11 millimeters wide with a widely angled point.[3] They are oblanceolate, like a reversed spear head in shape with the wider portion above the midpoint, and have a tapered base that is almost like a leaf stalk.[5] Higher up on the stems the leaves have the same lower limit but can reach lengths of 7 cm (2.8 in) and are 2–14 mm in width.[3] They are lanceolate, like a spear head with the widest part nearer the base, to nearly like a blade grass with the base of the leaf attached directly to the main stalk.[5]
The upper part of its stems is an inflorescence with branches called a thyrse measuring 3–28 cm (1.2–11.0 in), though usually more than 6 cm (2.4 in). It will have three to twelve groups of flowers.[3] Lower down in the inflorescence the flowers are on longer branches with two to five flowers. Higher up flowers become single on shorter branches.[5] Flower buds are green-yellow with red ends. It has bright scarlet flowers with projecting lobes resembling a beak at the top that are notched towards the end.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]Penstemon rostriflorus was scientifically described and named in 1860 by Albert Kellogg.[6] However, the species was usually identified as Penstemon bridgesii in older sources.[2] The fact that Kellogg's name had priority was noticed by Frank Crosswhite and published in the 1984 fourth volume of the Intermountain Flora.[7] It is classified in the genus Penstemon within the family Plantaginaceae. It has no varieties, but has been described as a variety of one of it three synonyms.[6]
| Name | Year | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penstemon bridgesii A.Gray | 1868 | species | = het. |
| Penstemon bridgesii var. amplexicaulis Monnet | 1915 | variety | = het. |
| Penstemon bridgesii var. rostriflorus (Kellogg) Schelle | 1903 | variety | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym | |||
Names
[edit]Kellogg named it rostriflorus meaning "beak flower" in Botanical Latin.[4] It is similarly known by the common names beak-flowered penstemon or beaked penstemon.[8][9] It is also known as beak-flowered beardtongue or beaked beardtongue.[4] Like other red flowered hummingbird adapted penstemons such as Penstemon labrosus it is called scarlet penstemon.[9][10] Older names still used include bridge penstemon and Bridge's penstemon.[11][12]
Range and habitat
[edit]Beaked penstemon is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California in northwestern Mexico.[13] They grow on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in California and south in the Transverse Ranges, the Peninsular Ranges, and the San Jacinto Mountains.[7][14]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ NatureServe 2025.
- ^ a b c d Heflin 1997, p. 37.
- ^ a b c d Freeman 2020.
- ^ a b c d Heil et al. 2013, p. 723.
- ^ a b c Cronquist et al. 1984, p. 454.
- ^ a b POWO 2025.
- ^ a b Cronquist et al. 1984, p. 455.
- ^ Heflin 1997, p. 36.
- ^ a b Wiese 2000, p. 96.
- ^ Tyrrell 1985, p. 194.
- ^ Wenk 2014, p. 270.
- ^ Busco & Morin 2010, p. 254.
- ^ Hassler 2025.
- ^ Wetherwax & Holmgren 2012.
Sources
[edit]- Books
- Busco, Janice; Morin, Nancy R. (2010) [2003]. Native Plants for High-Elevation Western Gardens (Second ed.). Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55591-740-1. LCCN 2011288660. OCLC 712591270. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James L.; Holmgren, Patricia K. (1984). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A.. Vol. Four. Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae). New York: Published for the New York Botanical Garden by Hafner Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-89327-248-7. OCLC 320442. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Heflin, Jean (1997). Penstemons : The Beautiful Beardtongues of New Mexico. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Jackrabbit Press. ISBN 978-0-9659693-0-7. OCLC 39050925. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; 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. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Tyrrell, Esther Quesada (1985). Hummingbirds: Their Life and Behavior: A Photographic Study of the North American Species. Photographs by Robert A. Tyrrell (First ed.). New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-517-55336-7. OCLC 10456837. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Wenk, Elizabeth (2014). John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail. New York: Wilderness Press. ISBN 978-0-89997-736-2. OCLC 858602692. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- Wiese, Karen (2000). Sierra Nevada Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Shrubs of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. Helena, Mont: Falcon. ISBN 978-1-56044-981-2. OCLC 716475849. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Web sources
- Freeman, Craig C. (2020) [In print 2019]. "Penstemon rostriflorus". Flora of North America. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-19-086851-2. OCLC 1101573420. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Hassler, Michael (11 November 2025). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.11". World Plants. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- NatureServe (1 November 2025). "Penstemon rostriflorus". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- POWO (2025). "Penstemon rostriflorus Kellogg". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- Wetherwax, Margriet; Holmgren, Noel H. (2012). "Penstemon rostriflorus, in Jepson Flora Project". Jepson eFlora. University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
External links
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