Penstemon floridus Brandegee

Taxon Identity

Penstemon floridus Brandegee is a herbaceous plant that reaches 50 to 120 centimeters (1.6 to 3.9 ft) in height at maturity.

Stem Growth Form

Its stems are either erect, or grow outward a short distance before curving upward.

Stem Surface Characteristics

The stems are hairless and glaucous, covered in natural waxes that give them a pale gray or blue tint.

Leaf Arrangement Types

This species produces both basal leaves (growing directly from the plant base) and cauline leaves (attached to the stems).

General Leaf Traits

The leaves are thick and typically dentate, with large teeth along their margins.

Basal Leaf Size

Basal leaves and the lowest stem leaves have short petioles, measure 5 to 10 centimeters (2.0 to 3.9 in) long, and are usually 2 to 4.5 cm (0.79 to 1.77 in) wide, occasionally as narrow as 8 millimeters.

Basal Leaf Shape

These leaves occur in a range of shapes: obovate to ovate, oblanceolate, or lanceolate.

Stem Leaf Count

Stems bear six to nine pairs of leaves.

Upper Stem Leaf Attachment

Upper stem leaves attach directly to the main stem by their bases, and may clasp the stem.

Inflorescence Characteristics

The inflorescence, located at the tip of each stem, is hairy and glandular, 30 to 80 cm (1.0 to 2.6 ft) long, and holds nine to nineteen flower clusters.

Inflorescence Flower Orientation

All flowers in the inflorescence face the same direction.

Flower Shape

The showy flowers are 2.1 to 3.2 cm long, with a wide throat that is narrower at the mouth; this trait is especially prominent in var. floridus, giving the flower a shape resembling an inflated pink pufferfish.

Flower Coloration

The fused petals range in color from lavender to light pink, rose pink, or light yellow, and always have darker red nectar guide lines.

Species Distribution Range

Penstemon floridus is restricted to the deserts of Nevada and southern California.

Habitat Preferences

It grows in desert sagebrush and pinyon-juniper woodland communities, most often in gravelly soil in arroyos and canyons.