Penstemon bleaklyi

Plant Information
Species: 
bleaklyi
Species Authority: 
O'Kane & K.D. Heil
Habit:
 
herbaceous perennial
Habit Woodiness:
 
herbaceous
Lifespan: 
long-lived
Plant Height - Min: 
0.20dm
Plant Height - Max: 
0.80dm
Habitat Description: 
Grows on alpine scree slopes composed of steep, decomposing, and reddish granite.
Distribution Range: 
The 1.69 billion-year old Jaroso Creek formation in the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in north-central New Mexico.
Soil Type: 
Scree slopes, decomposing and granite soils.
Elevation - Min: 
3800.00m
Elevation - Max: 
4000.00m
Other Notes: 

From O'Kane and Heil (2014): "Taxonomically, Penstemon bleaklyi clearly belongs to subg. Penstemon, but depending on which description or key is used, it is difficult to determine to which section the species belongs. According to the descriptions in Nold (1999) the species probably belongs to sect. Penstemon (subsect. Humiles), based especially on the presence of serrulate leaves. In the key of Crosswhite (1965) the species easily keys to series (subsect.) Harbouriani. Using the key provided by Holmgren (1984; revised 2008), however, the species easily keys to sect. Penstemon. It should be noted that Holmgren’s key does not include subsect. Harbouriani. Subsect. Harbouriani, according to Nold (1999), has entire leaves, whereas P. bleaklyi has many leaves serrulate. The polyphyly of subgenera Saccanthera, Habroanthus, and Penstemon, however, leaves in doubt the subgeneric classification of the species (Wolfe et al. 2006).

The species is named for David L. Bleakly, a New Mexico specialist of the genus Penstemon, who wrote the treatment of the genus for the Flora of the San Juan Basin Region (Bleakly 2013) as well as a key to the species of the genus for the state of New Mexico (Bleakly 1998), and with Heil, who recognized this species as unique."

First Bloom: 
none stated
Last Bloom: 
none stated
References: 

O'Kane SL, Heil KD. 2014. Penstemon bleaklyi (Plantaginaceae), a new high-elevation species from north-central New Mexico. Phytoneuron. 61: 1-4.