Participant Info

Species

Penstemon virgatus subsp. virgatus

Family

Plantaginaceae

CommonName

wand Penstemon

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1924

LatestDate

2021

Ecosystem

foothill, montane, ruderal

Geobotanical

SSanjuans

Counties

Conejos, Rio Grande

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, Alder Creek N of South Fork 6 July 2019; junction of Cathedral Creek Road and Groundhog Road, 8 miles NW of South Fork, 20 feet from road, associated with Tetradymia, Rosa, Verbena, Erigeron 8 July 2021

Comments

This is the pubescent subspecies of P. virgatus, whose normal range is New Mexico and Arizona. There are only two herbarium vouchers, from South Cat Creek (Rio Grande Co, 1924) and Terrace Reservoir (Conejos Co, 1939); and two photorecords, from just N of South Fork. P. virgatus subsp. virgatus may be more common in the Watershed than this record suggests, with collectors assuming plants are P. virgatus var. asa-grayi, very common and very similar, just lacking the pubescence of stem and leaves (not observable without a hand lens). Allred et al. (2020) do not indicate the presence of this subspecies in New Mexico, just subsp. asa-grayi. See Annotated page.

Annotation

Yes