Penstemon rhizomatosus

Penstemon rhizomatosus
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Genus:	Penstemon
Species:	P. rhizomatosus
Binomial name
Penstemon rhizomatosus N. Holmgren

Penstemon rhizomatosus is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Scheel Creek beardtongue^[1] and rhizome beardtongue. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it occurs only in the Schell Creek Range of White Pine County.^[2]

This plant was first described in 1998.^[3] It is a perennial herb growing up to about 28 centimeters in maximum height. The clusters of stems arise from a woody caudex and thick taproot. The leaves are lance-shaped and borne on winged petioles. They are up to 3.5 centimeters long including the petioles and are coated in short white hairs. The inflorescence is a thyrse of flowers. The flower has a hairy, glandular calyx of sepals and a purple or reddish corolla between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The staminode is hairless. Blooming occurs in June through August.^[2]

This plant grows in a subalpine, or sometimes an alpine climate. It grows on rocky terrain, such as outcrops, scree slopes, and crevices in cliffs. The rock is usually limestone, or sometimes quartzite.^[2]

There are six known occurrences of this plant, all located on four peaks in the central Schell Creek Range. They occur within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.^[2]

References