Assessment of the status of Blowout Beardtongue

(Penstemon haydenii S. Watson, Plantaginaceae) using molecular and morphological approaches

Primary researchers: Craig C. Freeman, Mark E. Mort

Funding source: Bureau of Land Management

Penstemon haydenii (blowout beardtongue) is a rare, herbaceous perennial plant that is endemic in north-central Nebraska and south-central Wyoming. The species was listed as endangered by the U.S. Department of Interior on September 1, 1987. While Nebraska populations have been known since 1857, the species was not confirmed in Wyoming until 1996.  Morphological and molecular data are being used to examine the taxonomy, systematics, and phylogenetics of P. haydenii, focusing on the relationship of Nebraska and Wyoming populations to each other and with other species in section Coerulei of the genus Penstemon.