Penstemon clevelandii explained

Penstemon clevelandii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Cleveland's beardtongue. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in mountain and desert habitat such as scrub, woodland, and chaparral. It is a perennial herb with upright, branching stems 70 centimeters in maximum height. The thick leaves are oval in shape, sometimes toothed, and 2 to 6 centimeters in length. The inflorescence produces tubular flowers with expanded, lipped mouths. The flower is pink to magenta in color, up to 2.4 centimeters in length, and somewhat glandular on the outer surface.

Its specific epithet clevelandii honors 19th-century San Diego-based plant collector and lawyer Daniel Cleveland.^[1]

There are three subtaxa recognized as varieties or subspecies.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Who was Salvia clevelandii named for? . Smarty Plant . Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the University of Texas at Austin . [T]he author of the species chose to honor Daniel Cleveland, a nineteenth-century lawyer, amateur botanist, plant collector and co-founder of the San Diego Society of Natural History. [Besides ''[[Salvia clevelandii]],] there are a number of other species named in his honor, including: Cheilanthes clevelandii, Chorizanthe clevelandii, Cryptantha clevelandii, Dodecatheon clevelandii, Horkelia clevelandii, Malacothrix clevelandii, Mimulus clevelandii, Muilla clevelandii, Nicotiana clevelandii and Penstemon clevelandii. Moreover, the monotypic Mexican genus, Clevelandia (now included in Castilleja) was also named in Mr. Cleveland's honor..