Fendler Penstemon - Penstemon fendleri
Ready Pay Gulch, East of
Hillsboro, New Mexico
March 30, 2017
We found this Fendler Penstemon, Penstemon fendleri, along with a number of other flowering species, in an area with a diameter of 20 meters.
The BONAP map to the right shows the range of this species within the United States. The light green color indicates that the species is native to and not rare within the county indicated. Within Mexico, its range appears to be limited to the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila.
Fendler Penstemon is also known by a number of other English Common Names, including: Fendler’s Penstemon, Fendler’s Beardtongue, Fendler Beardtongue, and Purple Foxglove. There appear to be no scientific synonyms.
On March 29, 2014, the hillsides had large numbers of Fendler Penstemon, Penstemon fendleri, in bloom or coming into bloom. The Vascular Plants of the Gila site has excellent photographs of the inside of the corolla which I was able to match with one of my images (photos below). This species was first described by John Torrey and Asa Gray in the “Reports of explorations and surveys: to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the direction of the Secretary of War” (1857).
Southwest Biodiversity provides more than 200 specimen sheets for this species. The specimen sheet shown below is a plant collected by E. Palmer in New Mexico.
Photo immediately above and all below: March 29, 2014, east of Hillsboro, NM
