Penstemon clutei | |
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Conservation status
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Imperiled (NatureServe) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Penstemon |
Species: | P. clutei
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Binomial name | |
Penstemon clutei A.Nelson[1]
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Penstemon clutei is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Sunset Crater beardtongue. It is endemic to Arizona, where it is known only from a system of volcanic cinder cones, including Sunset Crater, in Coconino County.[2][3]
This perennial herb grows up to 80 centimeters tall.[3] It has waxy, serrated leaves and blooms in tubular pink flowers between April and August.[2]
This plant grows only on volcanic fields around Sunset Crater in one Arizona county. It grows in openings and around Ponderosa pines.[3] It is a fire-adapted species.[4] It may be threatened by off-road vehicle use and by hybridization with other Penstemon.[5]
Aven Nelson first described the plant in 1927 as a subspecies of Penstemon pseudospectabilis M.E.Jones. In 1937 David D. Keck gave the plant a distinct species name based upon its narrow ecological niche.[6]