Not Quite a Penstemon

I was recently paging through a book about penstemons, admiring the photography, marveling at the variety of species, wondering if I had seen this one or that, etc., when I came upon a photograph of a yellow flower, which was annoyingly familiar. I was certain I had seen it somewhere in my wildflower travels of the last couple of years; more importantly, I was certain I had photographed it.

I couldn't find it in any of my binders of my "keepers." Those are the photographs I think are good enough to let other people see. Failing that, I popped open the lid on my box of wildflower photos, the ones which weren't "keepers." And there they were, in the section of flowers photographed during the month of March, two photos of that same yellow penstemon, or rather two photos of that same yellow flower which wasn't quite a penstemon.

As it turns out, there are four genera of plants in the Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae) which are closely related to Penstemons. They all have four fertile stamens and a single, relatively large staminode (sterile, modified stamen). They also look very much like Penstemons, and one time or another were included in the genus. These four genera are Chionophila, Keckiella, Nothochelone, and Pennellianthus. The first three are all native to North America while the fourth is native to Asia.

Chionophilas differ from Penstemons in some of the diddly bits that require you really paying attention, diddly bits such as the calyx, or the fruit. The others differ from Penstemons in where the nectar is produced. Penstemons produce nectar on hair-like glands at the base of the stamens while Keckiellas, Nothochelones, and Pennellianthus produce nectar on disks that support the ovaries.

There are two species of Chionophila: C. jamesii and C. tweedyi. The first grows above the timberline in the Rocky Mts., from Pike Peak in Colorado up to Medicine Bow in Wyoming. The second is found in open woods from central Idaho into Montana. It has blue flowers while C. jamesii has white to very, very barely pale yellow flowers.

Keckiella is a genus of seven species with at least that many subspecies. They are shrubs and are found from Mexico into Arizona, California, western Nevada, and southern Oregon. The seven species are K. antirrhinoides, H. breviflora, K. cordifolia, K. corymbosa, K. lemmonii, K. rothrockii, and K. ternata, K. cordifolia has red flowers which are pollinated by hummingbirds.

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