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Penstemon
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Penstemon
Penstemon /ˈpɛnstɪmən/, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.
Formerly placed in the family Scrophulariaceae by the Cronquist system, new genetic research has placed it in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae. The total number of species is uncertain due to ongoing research into if some of the named species are actually subspecies or misidentifications of already identified species.
They have opposite leaves, partly tube-shaped, and two-lipped flowers and seed capsules. The most distinctive feature of the genus is the prominent staminode, an infertile stamen. The staminode takes a variety of forms in the different species; while it is typically a long straight filament extending to the mouth of the corolla, some are longer and extremely hairy, giving the general appearance of an open mouth with a fuzzy tongue protruding and inspiring the common name of "beardtongue".
Most penstemons form a durable woody stem (a caudex) and have persistent basal leaves, but some are fully deciduous perennials, the remainder being shrubs or subshrubs. Heights can range from 10 cm to as much as 3 meters. Along with their variable growth forms the penstemons have highly variable leaves, often with different leaf shapes on different parts of the same plant. Some species have highly reduced needle like leaves and others broad and rounded leaves, with their texture also running the range of hairy to smooth/glabrous. In the view of penstemon expert Robert Nold the defining evolutionary characteristic of the genus is adaptation to drought, as demonstrated by their numbers and diversity in the interior west of North America.
The distinctive flowers have fused petals shaped like a funnel or tube. At the opening of the flowers the petals are bilabiate, with a larger lip with three lobes towards the bottom of the flower and the smaller on the upper side with two lobes. Floral colors are quite varied with white, blue, violet, purple, pink, magenta, and red all being common. Much more rarely they may be yellow, though often only a pale shade of cream or ivory. The most frequent colors are shades of blue. The inside of the flowers and lips are very often marked by nectar guides in a distinctive hue and the interior of the flower may also be a different color than the exterior. Relatively little is know about toxicity in penstemons and there are no reports of poisonings. However, species such as dusky penstemon (Penstemon whippleanus) are known to contain several alkaloids.
The one Asiatic species previously treated in Penstemon is now placed in a separate genus Pennellianthus. This leaves Penstemon a mostly Nearctic genus, with a few neotropical species. Although widespread across North America, and found in habitats ranging from open desert to moist forests, and up to the alpine zone, they are not typically common within their range.
The Penstemon genus is placed in the large plantain family, Plantaginaceae, alongside others in tribe Cheloneae. Prior to 2005 they had usually been included in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae.
Penstemon has been subdivided into six subgenera by using anther dehiscence patterns. Subgenera Cryptostemon and Dissecti each contain one species. As traditionally defined subgenus Penstemon contains about 128 species, subgenus Habroanthus contains about 50, subgenus Saccanthera has about 28 species, and subgenus Dasanthera contains nine. Genetic analysis by Andrea D Wolfe et al. indicates that while some of the previously identified subgenera are natural groupings, many are hopelessly confused. Garden experiments by Glen Moore and other scientists have shown that even very distantly related species in the genus are capable of hybridizing. However, due to geographic isolation and soil preferences keeping species apart hybrids are rare in nature.
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Penstemon
Penstemon /ˈpɛnstɪmən/, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.
Formerly placed in the family Scrophulariaceae by the Cronquist system, new genetic research has placed it in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae. The total number of species is uncertain due to ongoing research into if some of the named species are actually subspecies or misidentifications of already identified species.
They have opposite leaves, partly tube-shaped, and two-lipped flowers and seed capsules. The most distinctive feature of the genus is the prominent staminode, an infertile stamen. The staminode takes a variety of forms in the different species; while it is typically a long straight filament extending to the mouth of the corolla, some are longer and extremely hairy, giving the general appearance of an open mouth with a fuzzy tongue protruding and inspiring the common name of "beardtongue".
Most penstemons form a durable woody stem (a caudex) and have persistent basal leaves, but some are fully deciduous perennials, the remainder being shrubs or subshrubs. Heights can range from 10 cm to as much as 3 meters. Along with their variable growth forms the penstemons have highly variable leaves, often with different leaf shapes on different parts of the same plant. Some species have highly reduced needle like leaves and others broad and rounded leaves, with their texture also running the range of hairy to smooth/glabrous. In the view of penstemon expert Robert Nold the defining evolutionary characteristic of the genus is adaptation to drought, as demonstrated by their numbers and diversity in the interior west of North America.
The distinctive flowers have fused petals shaped like a funnel or tube. At the opening of the flowers the petals are bilabiate, with a larger lip with three lobes towards the bottom of the flower and the smaller on the upper side with two lobes. Floral colors are quite varied with white, blue, violet, purple, pink, magenta, and red all being common. Much more rarely they may be yellow, though often only a pale shade of cream or ivory. The most frequent colors are shades of blue. The inside of the flowers and lips are very often marked by nectar guides in a distinctive hue and the interior of the flower may also be a different color than the exterior. Relatively little is know about toxicity in penstemons and there are no reports of poisonings. However, species such as dusky penstemon (Penstemon whippleanus) are known to contain several alkaloids.
The one Asiatic species previously treated in Penstemon is now placed in a separate genus Pennellianthus. This leaves Penstemon a mostly Nearctic genus, with a few neotropical species. Although widespread across North America, and found in habitats ranging from open desert to moist forests, and up to the alpine zone, they are not typically common within their range.
The Penstemon genus is placed in the large plantain family, Plantaginaceae, alongside others in tribe Cheloneae. Prior to 2005 they had usually been included in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae.
Penstemon has been subdivided into six subgenera by using anther dehiscence patterns. Subgenera Cryptostemon and Dissecti each contain one species. As traditionally defined subgenus Penstemon contains about 128 species, subgenus Habroanthus contains about 50, subgenus Saccanthera has about 28 species, and subgenus Dasanthera contains nine. Genetic analysis by Andrea D Wolfe et al. indicates that while some of the previously identified subgenera are natural groupings, many are hopelessly confused. Garden experiments by Glen Moore and other scientists have shown that even very distantly related species in the genus are capable of hybridizing. However, due to geographic isolation and soil preferences keeping species apart hybrids are rare in nature.
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