Scientific Name : Penstemon bleaklyi
Author : O'Kane & K.D. Heil
NatureServe Explorer
Common Name : Bleakly Penstemon
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Taxonomy
Plantaginaceae (plantain family)
Penstemon bleaklyi was described from New Mexico in 2014 (Heil and O'Kane 2014) and discovered in Colorado in 2021. It is included in the second edition of Ackerfield (2022). Ackerfield (2022) places this genus in the Plantaginaceae (Plantain Family).
Ranks and Status
State Rank : S1
State Rank Reason : Penstemon bleaklyi is an alpine species known from two occurrences in Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA. Threats are not well documented though climate change is a concern.
U.S. Endangered Species Act : none
Colorado Threatened and Endangered List : none
Other Statuses : SWAP SGIN
Description and Phenology
General Description:
Perennial, forming loose mats from numerous rhizomes 0.2-0.8 dm; stems minutely puberulent; leaves lanceolate to broadly elliptic below, linear to linear-lanceolate above, 1.5-3.5 cm x 4-15 mm, the margins mostly serrulate, thyrse (panicle) rather short (2-4 cm long, (1) 2-6 (8) flowered, densely pubescent with gland tipped trichomes; calyx 5-8 mm long, densely pubescent, the hairs with pale-yellow gland tips; corolla 12-25 mm long, violet to purple, glandular-hairy externally, densely bearded within on lower lip; staminode densely bearded at the tip; anthers dark purple, finely puberulent (Ackerfield 2022).
Look Alikes:
Penstemon harbourii has entire leaf margins, and staminodes that are bearded for nearly the entire length, while P. bleaklyi has serrulate leaf margins (mostly), and staminodes that are bearded only at the tip. Penstemon hallii has glabrous anther sacs (with short hairs on the side opposite the dehiscence), and the corollas are glabrous externally, while P. bleaklyi has finely puberulent anthers and the corollas are glandular-hairy externally (Ackerfield 2022).
Phenology:
July-August (Ackerfield 2022).
Habitat
Alpine scree slopes composed of steep, decomposing, reddish, gneissic granite (O'Kane and Heil 2014). Associated species include Antennaria media, Artemisia scopulorum, Castilleja miniata, Elymus scribneri, Erigeron melanocephalus, Festuca saximontana, Poa cusickii, Senecio holmii, Sibbaldia procumbens, Stellaria irrigua, Trifolium brandegeei, Trisetum spicatum, and Tonestus pygmaeus (O'Kane and Heil 2014).
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Elevation Range:
11,000 - 13,500 feet (3,353 - 4,115 meters)
Distribution
Colorado Endemic:
No
Range:
Penstemon bleaklyi is known from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Costilla and Huerfano counties, Colorado, USA. Estimated range extent in Colorado of 6 square kilometers was calculated in GeoCAT using occurrence data provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (2023). The species is also known from New Mexico, USA.
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Threats and Management Issues
Threats are not well documented though climate change is a concern.
References
- Ackerfield, Jennifer. 2022. Flora of Colorado. Second Edition. Bot. Misc. 60. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Botanic Garden/Botanical Research Institute of Texas, U.S.A. 861 pp.
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP). 2023. Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System (Biotics 5). Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- O'Kane, S.L., Jr., and K.D. Heil. 2014. Penstemon bleaklyi (Plantaginaceae), a new high-elevation species from north-central New Mexico. Phytoneuron 61: 1-4.
