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In
North America there are over 250 Penstemon species, more than any other
genera of Scrophulariaceae (Snapdragon Family). Nine of the more than
three
dozen Penstemons
found in the Four Corners area are shown in this web site on two pages of blue/purple
Penstemons and on
one page of red Penstemons.
In the Four Corners area only the Astragalus genera has more
species -- sixty-one!
In 1748 the genus was named by British citizen and 1735-1746 American resident and plant collector, Dr. John Mitchell. Almost all sources indicate that the word "Penstemon" is derived from the Greek "pente" ("five") and "stemon" ("thread"). Penstemons are so named because one of their five stamens, i.e., one of their thread-like structures, is sterile and visually distinctly different from the others.
An alternate, but ultimately similar etymology is given by Intermountain Flora: "paene" is Latin for "nearly" and "stemon" is Greek for "thread". Thus the name means "nearly a thread", i.e., "nearly a stamen". Whatever the derivation, the botanical word for such a structure is "staminode", "a modified stamen which does not produce pollen". (Intermountain Flora definition.) You can see this staminode, nearly a stamen, structure at the left in the above photograph. Notice that it is hairy at the top, as are most Penstemon staminodes. This hairiness is the source of one common name for the genus: "Beard Tongue". |
