Penstemon fruticiformis is a species of penstemon known by the common name Death Valley penstemon. It is native to the western United States, where it is found growing in rocky scrub, woodlands, deserts and mountains of eastern California and western Nevada. It is known from scattered occurrences around Death Valley, and only one of the two varieties occurs on the Nevada side of the border.
Penstemon fruticiformis is a plant that grows as a shrub or subshrub, having stems that are at least partly woody, that grows to between NaN0NaN0 tall.[1] The stems branch frequently near the base of the plant and is typically wider than it is tall. Young stems are hairless and generally glaucous, covered in natural waxes giving a gray-blue color.[2]
The thick leaves are generally rolled inward or folded lengthwise. All the leaves are cauline, attached to the stems with none directly from the base of the plants. Usually the leaf edges are smooth, but rarely they may be serrulate, having very fine forward pointing asymmetrical teeth, though only towards their ends. There are six to twelve pairs of leaves attached to each stem on opposite sides, each 1.2 to 6.5 centimeters in length, though usually longer than 2.5 cm.
The inflorescence produces several white or pale pinkish-lavender flowers between 2 and 3 centimeters long. The mouth of the flower bears a stark, dark line on each of its three lower lobes, nectar guides for its pollinators which probably include native bumble bees.[3]
The scientific name and description of Penstemon fruticiformis was published by Frederick Vernon Coville in 1893. It is part of the Penstemon genus in family Plantaginaceae.[4] The type specimen was collected from Wild Rose Canyon in the Panamint Range.[5]
The species has two varieties.
Initially described as a subspecies, variety amargosae has flowers that are more or less glandular-pubescent externally. The lobes of it sepals also have an average greater length, ranging from 4.5 to 6.5 millimeters. The glandular hairs are more easily seen on flower buds than on blooming flowers.[6] In addition to being known by the same common names as the species as a whole it is also known as Amargosa penstemon.[7]
The antonymic variety has flowers that are hairless externally and a shorter range of sepal lengths, 3.5 to 5 millimeters, though this does overlap with var. amargosae. It only grows in Inyo County, California.[8] It is occasionally known as the desert bush penstemon.[9]
Penstemon fruticiformis has three synonyms:[10] [11]
| Penstemon fruticiformis subsp. amargosae | 1937 | data-sort-value=B | subspecies | var. amargosae | ≡ hom. |
| Penstemon fruticiformis var. spiciformis | 1925 | data-sort-value=C | variety | var. fruticiformis | ≡ hom. |
| Penstemon fruticiformis subsp. typicus | 1937 | data-sort-value=B | subspecies | P. fruticiformis | = het. not validly publ. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym |
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The botanical Latin species name fruticiformis means "shaped like a bush". In English the species is known as Death Valley penstemon.[12] It is additionally known as desert mountain penstemon.[13]