Penstemon superbus A. Nelson
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Scientific Name: Penstemon superbus A. Nelson
Synonyms: Penstemon puniceus A. Gray, not Lilja
Vernacular Name: Superb beardtongue
R-E-D Code: 1-1-2
Description: Plants perennial, glaucous (bluish); stems 3-12 dm tall;
basal leaves petiolate; cauline leaves cordate-clasping or connate-perfoliate;
inflorescence narrow, often more than half plant height, glandular or glabrous;
flowers in dense fascicles separated by long internodes; corolla orange-pink to
scarlet, glandular outside, very obscurely bilabiate, throat only slightly
expanded, 17-22 mm long; stamens included; anthers glabrous, explanate;
staminode bearded near tip with a few short hairs. Flowering April-June.
Similar Species: This species is unlikely to be confused with any other
penstemon in the area because of its size, glaucous foliage, inflorescence
architecture, unique flower color, and explanate anthers.
Distribution: Grant and Hidalgo counties, New Mexico; Cochise, Gila,
Graham, Greenlee, Pima counties, Arizona; and adjacent Chihuahua and Sonora,
Mexico.
Habitat: Rocky canyons, washes, grasslands; sandy or gravelly soil;
piņon/juniper and oak woodlands; 950-1770 m (3100-5800 ft)
Conservation Considerations: This beautiful and conspicuous plant may be
suffering from over-collection. Otherwise, current land uses apparently pose no
threat to it.
Remarks: Some earlier botanists occasionally identified certain
specimens, including one by Metcalfe from Grant County, New Mexico, as P.
wrightii, a Chihuahuan Desert endemic, which is very similar.
Important Literature (* Illustration):
* Heflin, J. 1997. Penstemons: the beautiful beardtongues of New Mexico.
Jackrabbit Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
* Nisbet, G.T. and R.C. Jackson. 1960. The genus Penstemon in New
Mexico. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 41(5):691-759.
Nelson, A. 1904. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 17:100.
Gray, A. 1859. Scrophulariaceae [as P. puniceus]. In: W.H. Emory,
Report on the United States and Mexican boundary survey, Vol 2, Part 1, general
botany (by J. Torrey):113.
Information Compiled By: David L. Bleakly, 1999
