The first offer of seeds for sale as by John Fraser in 1813. Horticulture Īlthough penstemons are among the most attractive native flowers of North America, Europe has traditionally been far more active in their hybridization with hundreds of hybrids developed since the early 19th century. įieldwork in the remote parts of the Great Basin during the 20th century brought the total number of species known to over 270, though some of this total may be errors or now extinct species. This book was updated and republished with the Robin Lodewick in 1980 and continued to be an important source of information about the genus through the year 2000. In 1960 the important book Penstemon Taxonomy was published by American Penstemon Society president Ralph Bennett with the advice of Keck. Keck between 19 and Richard Straw did similar work on the Mexican species slightly later. The American members of the genus were extensively revised by David D. Though it should be noted not all these species remained classified as Penstemon. The period of 1810 to 1850 increased the number of known species from 4 to 63, as expeditions traveled through Mexico and the western United States, followed by another 100 up to 1900. Īlthough several more species were found in the early 18th century, they continued to be classified in Chelone until 1828 in some publications.

: 58–59 Mitchell's work was reprinted in 1769, continuing with his original spelling, and this was ultimately accepted as the official form, although Pentstemon continued in use into the 20th century. The botanist Casimir Schmidel published a description of the species in 1763, and for this reason he is given priority in botanical publication. : 58–59 Linnaeus then included it in his 1753 publication, as Chelone pentstemon, altering the spelling to better correspond to the notion that the name referred to the unusual fifth stamen (Greek 'penta-', five). John Mitchell published the first scientific description in 1748 although he only named it as Penstemon, researchers David Way, Peter James, and Robert Nold identify it as P. : 19 Although widespread across North America, and found in habitats ranging from open desert to moist forests, and up to the alpine zone, : 7 they are not typically common within their range. This leaves Penstemon a mostly Nearctic genus, with a few neotropical species. The one Asiatic species previously treated in Penstemon is now placed in a separate genus Pennellianthus. : 11 : 38 In the view of penstemon expert Robert Nold the defining evolutionary characteristic of the genus is adaptation to drought, as demonstrated by their numbers and diversity in the interior west of North America. Some species have highly reduced needle like leaves and others broad and rounded leaves, with their texture also running the range of hairy to smooth/ glaborous.

Along with their variable growth forms the penstemons have highly variable leaves, often with differnet leaf shapes on different parts of the same plant. : 7 Heights can range from 10 cm to as much as 3 metres. Most penstemons form a durable woody stem (a caudex) and have persistent basal leaves, but some are fully deciduous perennials, the remainder being shrubs or subshrubs. The staminode takes a variety of forms in the different species while it is typically a long straight filament extending to the mouth of the corolla, some are longer and extremely hairy, giving the general appearance of an open mouth with a fuzzy tongue protruding and inspiring the common name beardtongue. The most distinctive feature of the genus is the prominent staminode, an infertile stamen. They have opposite leaves, partly tube-shaped, and two-lipped flowers and seed capsules.

Wand of disintegration