Penstemon filiformis
Encyclopedia
Penstemon filiformis is an uncommon species of penstemon
known by the common name threadleaf beardtongue. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains
of northern California
, where it grows in forest and woodland, often on serpentine soil
s. It is a perennial herb growing up to half a meter tall, its stem hairy and woody toward the base. The leaves are very narrow, linear and rolled to threadlike, reaching up to 7 centimeters long, those low on the plant sometimes borne in clusters. The inflorescence
produces hairless, tubular or funnel-shaped blue to purple flowers just over a centimeter in length.
Penstemon
Penstemon , Beard-tongue, is a large genus of North American and East Asian plants traditionally placed in the Scrophulariaceae family. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae...
known by the common name threadleaf beardtongue. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
of northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in forest and woodland, often on serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. It is a perennial herb growing up to half a meter tall, its stem hairy and woody toward the base. The leaves are very narrow, linear and rolled to threadlike, reaching up to 7 centimeters long, those low on the plant sometimes borne in clusters. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
produces hairless, tubular or funnel-shaped blue to purple flowers just over a centimeter in length.