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| Penstemon harringtonii | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
 Vulnerable (NatureServe) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Penstemon |
| Species: | P. harringtonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Penstemon harringtonii Penland | |
Penstemon harringtonii, commonly known as Harrington's Penstemon and Harrington's beardtongue, is a species of flowering plant. P. harringtonii is endemic to northwestern Colorado in the United States. The species is named for Colorado botanist Harold Harrington.
Description
Penstemon harringtonii is a perennial flowering plant that ranges between 3 decimetres (12 in) and 7 decimetres (28 in) tall. Plants have one or a few stems stems; each are erect and glabrous, and can be purpleish on their upper portions. A typical plant will have one unbranched stem.
The plants flower between June and July. Flowers are arranged in spikes with bilateral symmetry on the top half of the stem. The flowers on P. harringtonii have distinctive lower pairs of stamen that are exserted (extend beyond the length of the flower tube). Flowers range in color, with the Flora of North America reporting "corolla blue to violet, lavender, or pinkish blue".
Taxonomy
Penstemon harringtonii was first described in 1958 by C. William T. Penland in the journal Madroño. Penland had discovered the plant in 1952 within 5 miles (8.0 km) of Green Mountain Reservoir in Grand County, Colorado, and collected a type specimen he would use to describe the species. Penland reviewed other Penstemon collections and determined that two other specimens of the species had been collected in 1951: Harold Harrington had collected one in Eagle County, Colorado, on June 7, while Mark and Claire Norton had collected a plant in Routt County, Colorado, on June 29.
The genus Penstemon, part of the Scrophulariaceae family, contains more than 270 species, making it the largest genus of flowering plants in North America. The genus is divided into subgenera, which are further divided into sections that are themselves sometimes divided into subsections. There are 62 species of Penstemon native to Colorado. P. harringtonii belongs to the subgenus Penstemon, section Courulei (a section with no subsections). The plant's nearest relatives are other species within the section Courulei, such as P. arenicola, P. cyathophorus, and P. secundiflorus.
Etymology
Plants in the genus Penstemon are often referred to as beardtongues for their flowers that resemble lips. Penland named the species Penstemon harringtonii for Harrington, a noted Colorado botanist. The species is also commonly known as Harrington's Penstemon and Harrington's beardtongue.
Distribution
Penstemon harringtonii is a species endemic to northwestern Colorado in the United States. Its range spans a 82 miles (132 km) by 48 miles (77 km) area on both sides of the Colorado River drainage. The species prefers sandy soil in the arid sagebrush steppe between elevations of 6,400 feet (2,000 m) and 9,400 feet (2,900 m). P. harringtonii is found in Eagle, Grand, Routt, and Summit counties. As of 2006, the entire population of an estimated 40,000 to 43,000 plants was spread across 10,000 acres (40 km) of occupied habitat.
Conservation
The plant's NatureServe conservation status as G3, meaning the species is considered "vulnerable".
References
- ^ "Penstemon harringtonii". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. August 9, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
- ^ Penland, C. William T. (January 1958). "Two new species of Penstemon in Colorado". Madroño. 14 (5): 153–160. JSTOR 41422929.
- ^ Panjabi, Susan Spackman; Anderson, David G. (June 30, 2006). "Penstemon harringtonii Penland (Harrington's beardtongue): A Technical Conservation Assessment" (PDF). Species Conservation Project. Fort Collins, CO: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Center for Plant Conservation.
- ^ "Penstemon harringtonii". wildflower.org. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- "Penstemon harringtonii". Flora of North America. Vol. 17. p. 119.
- "Occurence 29 June 1951". gbif.org. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- ^ Rumble, Hannah (June 10, 2024). "Curious Nature: Harrington's Penstemon is a Gem in Eagle County's Wildflower Crown". blog.walkingmountains.org. Walking Mountains Science Center. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- Tjossem, Bergen (May 26, 2016). "Trust Our Land: Harrington's Penstemon – A Unique Flower That Calls Eagle County Home". Edwards, CO: Eagle Valley Land Trust. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- O'Kane Jr., Steve L. (31 October 1988). "Colorado's Rare Flora". The Great Basin Naturalist. 48 (4): 434–484. JSTOR 41712461.
