Penstemon australis

Penstemon australis
Photo taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Scrophulariales
Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Genus:	Penstemon
Species:	P. australis
Binomial name
Penstemon australis Small
Natural range of Penstemon australis from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Eustis Lake beardtongue

Description

Penstemon australis is a perennial herbaceous species.

"Virgate, single-stemmed to bushy, perennial herbs with a mildly fetid odor; stems glabrous or pubescent. Leaves simple, unlobed, serrate or entire, those of the basal rosette petiolate, cauline leaves sessile, opposite, usually lanceolate. Inflorescence a panicle or thyrse. Sepals 5, free to base; corolla tubular, 2-lipped, the upper lip 2- lobed, the lower lip 3-lobed, throat inflated; fertile stamens 4, staminode pubescent; stigmas undivided, style 1. Capsule subconical; seeds angular, reticulate, usually ca. 1 mm in diam." - Radford et al 1964

"Stems one to several, 2-7 dm tall, not branched above the base, glabrous to pubescent. Leaves glabrous to pubescent, moderately thick, the basal oblanceolate to obovate, usually 5-10 (14) cm long, 1.5-2.5 (3.5) cm wide, subentire or occasionally dentate, often persistent through anthesis, cauline laves narrowly lanceolate, 3-10 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm wide, coarsely toothed to rarely subentire. Thyrse moderately compact, not leafy, glabrous to densely glandular, the tips of the glands less than ¼ the length of, and little broader than, the stalks. Sepals 3-5 mm long; corolla rose to lavender and violet, the guide lines usually reddish purple alternating with white, the floor deeply pleated, 15-25 mm long, gradually inflated to a throat 6-8 mm in diam., lobes spreading. Anther sacs glabrous, staminode densely bearded for most of its length with golden trichomes 1 mm long, exserted. Capsule 6-8 (10) mm long; seeds 0.1-1.1 mm long, often conspicuously apiculately thickened." - Radford et al 1964

Ecology

Habitat

P. australis occurs in the dry loamy sand of longleaf pine forests and pine-oak sandhills (FSU Herbarium). It also can be found in mixed woodlands and pine-hickory uplands (FSU Herbarium). On the other hand, it appears in disturbed habitat as well, including roadsides and near areas that have been logged (FSU Herbarium). Associated species include Pinus palustris, Carya, and Quercus (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

Flowering has been observed in April, while fruiting has been observed in May (FSU Herbarium).

Seed dispersal

According to Kay Kirkman, a plant ecologist, this species disperses by gravity.

Fire ecology

This species has been found in habitat that is burned annually (FSU Herbarium).

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Rodie White, Robert K. Godfrey, R. A. Norris, R. Komarek, and Loran C. Anderson. States and Counties: Florida: Gadsden, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla, and Washington. Georgia: Grady.

Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 947. Print.