Penstemon rhizomatosus
Penstemon rhizomatosus is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Scheel Creek beardtongue[2] and rhizome beardtongue. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it occurs only in the Schell Creek Range of White Pine County.[3]
Penstemon rhizomatosus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Penstemon |
Species: | P. rhizomatosus |
Binomial name | |
Penstemon rhizomatosus N.Holmgren | |
This plant was first described in 1998.[4] It is a perennial herb growing up to about 28 centimeters in maximum height. The clusters of stems arise from a woody caudex and thick taproot. The leaves are lance-shaped and borne on winged petioles. They are up to 3.5 centimeters long including the petioles and are coated in short white hairs. The inflorescence is a thyrse of flowers. The flower has a hairy, glandular calyx of sepals and a purple or reddish corolla between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The staminode is hairless. Blooming occurs in June through August.[3]
This plant grows in a subalpine, or sometimes an alpine climate. It grows on rocky terrain, such as outcrops, scree slopes, and crevices in cliffs. The rock is usually limestone, or sometimes quartzite.[3]
There are six known occurrences of this plant, all located on four peaks in the central Schell Creek Range. They occur within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.[3]
References
- "NatureServe Explorer". NatureServe Explorer Penstemon rhizomatosus. NatureServe. 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Penstemon rhizomatosus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- Penstemon rhizomatosus. The Nature Conservancy.
- Holmgren, N. H. (1998). Two new species of Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae: sect. Saccanthera) from Nevada, U.S.A. Brittonia 50(2) 159-64.