Penstemon murrayanus
Over the last couple of months you’ve seen two species in the genus Penstemon: P. buckleyi from west Texas and P. cobaea from a little northwest of Austin. Now joining them from Bastrop State Park is Penstemon murrayanus, called scarlet beardtongue, red penstemon, scarlet penstemon, cupleaf beardtongue, and cupleaf penstemon. The cupleaf in the last two of those names refers to the depression at the center of each of the pale gray-green leaves clasping the plant’s flower stalk. Note the drops of drizzle; this was the hardest they came down, and then fortunately they stopped.
Today’s photograph is yet another from an April 27th field trip led by botanist Bill Carr. Even though Penstemon is in a different botanical family from the sages, this plant reminds me of the cedar sage I showed you last month.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
A hummingbird’s paradise…
lensandpensbysally
June 26, 2014 at 7:35 AM
Yes, tubular red flowers are hummingbird magnets. They draw me in, too.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 7:37 AM
Those leaves are amazing. I can’t quite get a fix on them. Do they grow directly from the stem with no single point of attachment? It surely does look that way. I can’t remember ever seeing a circular leaf before.
shoreacres
June 26, 2014 at 7:54 AM
I like those leaves, too. It was the second thing I noticed, after the red flowers. Maybe you’ve seen the native prairie cup plants. They grow tall with yellow flowers on top. The stem is square. Their leaves come out in pairs. They also capture water. http://midewinrestoration.net/?attachment_id=966
Jim in IA
June 26, 2014 at 8:56 AM
Ah, I see that the prairie cup plant is Silphium perfoliatum, about which Wikipedia says: “The [leaf] petioles are widely winged and fused around the stem, forming a cup.” In my reply to Shoreacres I explained that the word perfoliate describes an arrangement in which a stem grows through (per) a leaf (folium), hence the species name perfoliatum for the prairie cup.
I wasn’t familiar with that plant, but in central Texas we have at least three species of Silphium:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/to-have-and-have-not-3/
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/white-on-the-blackland-prairie/
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/queen-butterfly-on-simpsons-rosinweed/
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 9:29 AM
There’s even a word for it: perfoliate. That describes an arrangement in which a stem grows through (per) a leaf (folium), so you’re correct that there is a ring of attachment rather than a single point. It’s not as rare an arrangement as you might imagine; I can think of two other local species in different botanical families that have it.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 9:16 AM
I found Perfoliate bellwort, aka Merrybells. I’ve seen recirculating fountains in garden centers that look very much like this plant, and assumed the arrangement of the leaves was pure fancy. Obviously not.
shoreacres
June 26, 2014 at 9:31 AM
In the case of your fountain, artifact imitated nature.
I’d not heard of perfoliate bellwort, but in typing perfol… into the Wildflower Center’s search box, I see that species as one of a bunch of hits.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 10:37 AM
I did notice the drizzle. The leaves are intriguing, as Linda says.
Gallivanta
June 26, 2014 at 8:48 AM
In my reply to her I said: “There’s even a word for it: perfoliate. That describes an arrangement in which a stem grows through (per) a leaf (folium), so you’re correct that there is a ring of attachment rather than a single point. It’s not as rare an arrangement as you might imagine; I can think of two other local species in different botanical families that have it.”
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 9:18 AM
I must keep an eye out for the perfoliate in my surroundings.
Gallivanta
June 26, 2014 at 6:06 PM
I’m assuming there must be some in your part of the world.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 9:27 PM
When I first saw this I thought of a Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). I love those perfoliate leaves. My favorite wildflower in my yard is the Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) which has perfoliate leafage although not round and cuplike and is related to the Joe Pye Weed (also a Eupatorium species) and neither of which are related to your Penstemon which is related to the Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) which may show up on my blog soon if not too copycattish of me.
Steve Gingold
June 26, 2014 at 3:38 PM
Copycat away, my friend, there’s no copyright on genera and species.
I’m aware of Eupatorium perfoliatum, and although it’s found over much of the eastern and central United States, including parts of east Texas, it doesn’t quite make it to Austin. I’m glad you’ve gotten to enjoy it in Massachusetts.
Because of the drought in Texas these past few years I’ve barely seen any cardinal flowers in Austin during that period, and therefore no picture of one has appeared here. With enough rain maybe I’ll find some again as we approach fall.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 4:48 PM
Your photograph is gorgeous…I am such a huge Penstemon fan. I have several in the garden and the hummingbirds love them.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
June 26, 2014 at 10:21 PM
Thanks, Charlie. This was a species I’d never seen before, so I was happy to be introduced it.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 10:32 PM
What a beautiful penstemon! I didn’t realize there was a scarlet species!
montucky
June 27, 2014 at 12:06 AM
I didn’t know either, and it grows as close as one county east of where I am.
Steve Schwartzman
June 27, 2014 at 6:36 AM
i wish i could be online more often to enjoy every single post that you make! i think this grows in costa rica in the dry rain forest.. i absently refer to it as a wild salvia and have always wanted to stop long enough to make a watercolor study..
it
Playamart - Zeebra Designs
June 28, 2014 at 12:05 PM
I’m sorry you can’t make it online more often, Lisa. As for this species, it’s not likely to be what you’ve seen in Costa Rica, because this penstemon is native to parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Of course it could be an exotic in Costa Rica, but I’d be surprised. There are various salvias that have similar flowers, and perhaps it’s one of those that you’ve seen. Whatever it is, I hope you’ll be able to make your watercolor of it.
Steve Schwartzman
June 28, 2014 at 1:14 PM
Well I only know the cultivars of this plant, but they are little beauties – I still have one in flower in my garden which has been flowering since June. I would love to plant some more and apparently the ones with the narrow leaves are the most tolerant of cold weather.
Heyjude
December 7, 2016 at 1:18 PM
I had no idea that cultivars of this species have made it across the ocean. I’ll bet by now they speak with a British rather than a Texan accent.
Steve Schwartzman
December 7, 2016 at 4:19 PM