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Plant Profile

Death Valley Beardtongue (Penstemon fruticiformis ssp. amargosae)

This shot shows a group of Death Valley Beardtongue in bloom. Photo Credit: Bart O'Brien

Global Rank: T3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Plantaginaceae
State: CA, NV
Nature Serve ID: 154651
Lifeform: Subshrub, Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/25/1988

Description:

Penstemon fruticiformis ssp. amargosae is a short, shrubby perennial with pale-pink to whitish flowers containing strongly lined lavender nectar guides that signal pollinators to a nectar reward. (See CalFlora (2000) for photos). This Penstemon grows in gravely washes, canyon floors and juniper/pine woodlands in Nevada (Hickman 1993).

Where is Death Valley Beardtongue (Penstemon fruticiformis ssp. amargosae) located in the wild?

Habitat:

This Penstemon grows in gravely washes, canyon floors and juniper/pine woodlands in Nevada (Hickman 1993).

Distribution:

Historical distribution for Penstemon fruticiformis ranges from one or two counties in Nevada (Nye and possible Clark counties) west into the Death Valley region of California.

States & Provinces:

Death Valley Beardtongue can be found in California, Nevada

Which CPC Partners conserve Death Valley Beardtongue (Penstemon fruticiformis ssp. amargosae)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 3 accessions of Penstemon fruticiformis var. amargosae in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 88516 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden has collected 3 seed accessions of Penstemon fruticiformis var. amargosae from 2 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 5 maternal plants

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Penstemon fruticiformis ssp. amargosae is known from Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California, and Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada.

01/01/2010

Threats include habit fragmentation, degradation and over grazing.

01/01/2010

The Nevada Natural Heritage Program (NNHP 2001) reports 17 or 21 occurrences in the state, with number of individuals per occurrence unknown.

01/01/2010

There is no current active research for this Penstemon.

01/01/2010

There is currently no formalized management plan for this particular species, however, plans to modify grazing practices in sensitive areas may aid in conserving Penstemon fruticiformis.

01/01/2010

Monitoring populations, understanding reproductive biology and impact of different grazing levels would aid in conservation efforts.