Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Penstemon linarioides, Toadflax Penstemon

Toadflax Penstemon has beautiful showy blue-purple flowers that bloom from June to August. Penstemon linarioidesToadflax Penstemon is also called Colorado Narrowleaf Beardtongue and several other local names. Penstemon linarioidesToadflax Penstemon is a member of the Snapdragon Family and has flowers similar to Snapdragons. Penstemon linarioidesToadflax Penstemon is an herb or subshrub that grows up to 2 ½ feet or so. Penstemon linarioides

Scientific Name: Penstemon linarioides
Common Name: Toadflax Penstemon
Also Called: Colorado Narrowleaf Beardtongue, Creeping Penstemon, Maguire's Penstemon, Siler's Penstemon, Toadflax Beardtongue
Family: Scrophulariaceae, Figwort or Snapdragon Family - Moving to Plantaginaceae
Synonyms: ()
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 2 or 2 ½ feet or more.
Growth Form: Forb/herb, subshrub;
Leaves: Green, grayish, greenish; same color on both leaf surfaces; narrowly linear
Flower Color: Blue, blue-violet, purplish; corolla bilaterally symmetrical; flowers turned to one side, narrow long clusters toward upper end of stems.
Flowering Season: June to August in Arizona and Texas.
Elevation: 4,500 to 9,000 feet.

Habitat Preferences: Often on calcareous soil; open, often rocky soil at moderate elevations in Texas.

Recorded Range: Penstemon linarioides is found in the southwestern United States in; AZ, CO, NM, NV, UT. It is also native to northern Mexico. In Arizona it is found throughout most of the state but with few or no records in La Paz, Pinal, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Penstemon linarioides.

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

Genus Information: In North America there are 250 species and 393 accepted taxa overall for Penstemon. World wide, The Plant List includes 301 accepted species names and includes a further 188 infraspecific rank for the genus.

In the Southwestern United States, Arizona there are 43 species of Penstemon, in California there are 55 species, Nevada has 50 species, New Mexico has 47 species, Texas has 24 species, Utah has 73 species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.

There are 5 subsp. in Penstemon linarioides;
Penstemon linarioides subsp. coloradoensis, Toadflax Penstemon, (AZ, CO, NM);
Penstemon linarioides subsp. compactifolius, Toadflax Beardtongue, (AZ, NV);
Penstemon linarioides subsp. linarioides, Toadflax Beardtongue, (AZ, CO, NM);
Penstemon linarioides subsp. maguirei, Maguire's Penstemon, (AZ, NM);
Penstemon linarioides subsp. sileri, Siler's Penstemon, (AZ, NV, UT).

Comments: As with many of the Penstemons, the showy flowers attract native honey bees.

Date Profile Completed: 08/19/2016, updated format 10/03/2017
References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search - (accessed 08/18/2016)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=PENST&display=31
Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 08/17/2016).
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Plantaginaceae/Penstemon/
Native Plant Information Network, NPIN (2013). Published on the Internet http://www.wildflower.org/plants/ [accessed: 08/19/2016]. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PELI2
SEINet for synonyms, scientific names, recorded geographic locations and general information
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/(accessed 08/19/2016).
Wikipedia contributors, 'Penstemon linarioides', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 September 2015, 20:41 UTC,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Penstemon_linarioides&oldid=682298154 [accessed 19 August 2016]