''Penstemon haydenii'', the blowout penstemonFertig, Walter. 2000. Status of Blowout Penstemon (''Penstemon haydenii'') in Wyoming.” Prepared by the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database for the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department.Stubbendieck, J., J. Lamphere, and J.B. Fitzgerald. 1997. Nebraska Threatened and Endangered Species, Blowout Penstemon. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Pamphlet. or blowout beardtongue, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Penstemon'' and the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older cl ...

. The warm-season

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

is native to nine counties in the

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Sand Hills and a single location in Carbon County,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. The plant has a milky blue color with a waxy

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

, pale purple leaves, and an alternating leaf pattern with one central stock. The flowers, while in the inflorescence stage, originate from the bases of the leaves of the plant. Blowout penstemon flowers from May until early June and drops its seeds from late August into September. ''P. haydenii'' grows on bare sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s. It is resistant to the abrasive forces of the blowing sands due to its incorporation of a protective thick waxy cuticle. Other plants are often cut down by the scouring sands as they sprout. Another adaptive feature for the blowout penstemon is the lifespan of the seeds. The seeds dropped in late summer can remain viable in a seedbank buried in the sandy soils for decades. Prolonged wet conditions and abrasion are required for breaking dormancy and for seed

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

. The plant is primarily an out-crosser, although studies show that it is potentially self-fertile.

Distribution and habitat

Blowout penstemon was only known from the Sandhills of western

until the recent discovery of limited populations in

. It is found exclusively in sandy locations with little to no vegetation present, such as blowouts, hence its name. Due to the uncompetitive nature of the plant it is easily outcompeted by other plants in the

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

scheme. The ever-shifting sandy soils of the Sandhills provide blowout penstemon with an ideal environment, since there is little to no competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight. The plant colonises such areas as a pioneer species and thus promotes ecological succession.

Conservation

Endangered status

Blowout penstemon was declared an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

on September 1, 1987, due to its small numbers and habitat limitations. The direct cause of the reduced habitat is partly due to improvement of land management practices and

control of fire The control of fire by early humans was a critical technology enabling the evolution of humans. Fire provided a source of warmth and lighting, protection from predators (especially at night), a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a ...

in the Sandhills. Prior to the changes in management practices, land owners often unintentionally created blowout conditions with incorrect implementation of livestock grazing densities, essentially by overstocking. In addition, there was no consistent blowout control protocol. Current management practices often follow a more concise grazing scheme that promotes the improvement of range conditions and the reduction of habitat loss for blowout penstemon. Diminished wildfire regimes in the Sandhills have also had detrimental effects on habitat for blowout penstemon. Fire acts as a means for removing debris and litter from the soil surface, opening up the bare soil to wind

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

. This increase in wind erosion causes growing conditions for other plants to be more unfavorable, reducing competition from other species to the advantage of blowout penstemon. As artificial control of wildfires becomes more widespread, it promotes the development of the dunes to rangeland and thereby the elimination of blowout sites. Fire in the Sandhills has been more extensively controlled because of its detrimental effects. With the technology and resources available it is also easier to control and contain wildfires that may naturally occur.

Major threats

Blowout penstemon has four known threats that suppress numbers and available habitat. One of the first being human intervention, as is the major cause of many species to become endangered and extinct. Another is caused by the climatic conditions, unfavorable growing conditions. Plant competition and insect damage are also contributing factors in the endangerment of the blowout penstemon. The improvement of land management practices and control of fire is a direct human influence on the habitat conditions needed for the growth and development of blowout penstemon populations. In addition to these management plans, land managers may also reshape the blowouts with machinery to reduce the swirling action of winds. There are several common ways of leveling off the sharp edges of the blowouts. Mechanical means are often used to reshape the blowouts. Cattle are used to reshape the land and provide a layer of litter and debris. Climatic conditions have been thought to be a factor in the reduced numbers as well. Because the seeds require wet conditions to break dormancy,

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

can be a factor. The lack of moisture discourages the development of the seeds and promotes prolonged dormant stage. Plant competition is another large contribution to the reduction in numbers of the blowout penstemon plants. The penstemon provides shelter for other plants, increasing plant growth and decreasing the amount of windblown sand. The new plants then compete with the penstemon. Blowout penstemon in a blowout is one of the first signs of blowout recovery; to a land manager this is a positive sign for increased range condition and increased productivity. Insect damage also accounts for a considerable negative influence on the plants survival ability. "The most serious insect problem is probably the larvae of the

pyralid moth The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyrali ...

, which bores into the stem and root crowns of the blowout penstemon plant to pupate. This can cause a 75% mortality rate of the affected plants".

Recovery plans

Conservation activities include a form of regular surface disturbance that promotes the blowout environment and reduction of plant development. Oil and gas companies have been opened up into habitat known for blowout penstemon with strict regulations concerning surface disturbances. This intensive management is yet once again not a blanket policy; rather it is dealt with on a case by case level, depending on the year, climatic conditions, seasonal timing, and rehabilitation state of the stand. As a type of insurance for the existence of the blowout penstemon plant, seeds have been and are currently being collected and stored in seed banks to ensure the continuation of this species and to prevent

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

from occurring. These seeds may even be used at a later date to introduce them into a new environment. Other management practices include elimination of

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

References

*Minta, S.C. and T.M. Campbell III. 1991. Recommendations for Wildlife and Habitat Protection, Teton County, Wyoming. Prepared for Teton County Board of County Commissioners. Biota Research and Consulting, Inc. 20pp. *Nebraska Environmental Trust. 1992. Endangered Blowout Penstemon. *Schultz, R.K. and W.C. Leininger. 1990. Differences in Riparian Vegetation Structure Between Grazed Areas and Exclosures. ''Journal of Range Management'' 43:295-299. *U.S. Bureau of Land Management. 1990. Great Divide Resource Area Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan. *Wright, H.A. and A.W. Bailey. 1980. Fire ecology and prescribed burning in the Great Plains – a research review. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report INT-77.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7164856 haydenii Flora of Nebraska Flora of Wyoming Endangered flora of the United States