Penstemon penlandii

Penstemon penlandii is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Penland penstemon and Penland beardtongue. It is endemic to Colorado, United States, where it is known only from a strip of land of approximately twelve square kilometers (4.6 sq mi) in central Grand County. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. The first recorded observances of P. penlandii were in the 1980s during surveys for Osterhout milkvetch, another rare local endemic. The two plants are found only in Middle Park, a valley with seleniferous badlands that host a unique flora. The penstemon grows in clay that is rich in selenium, an element toxic to most other plants in high concentrations. In adjacent stretches of land that have a lower selenium content the penstemon population becomes thinner and it is replaced by sagebrush. The penstemon grows in the shade of the banks of runoff channels that are periodically flooded; the plant's deep, ropelike r......read more on Wikipedia.