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Penstemon smallii

Heller

Small's Beardtongue

G3Vulnerable Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Small's Beardtongue (Penstemon smallii). Photo by dkirschke, CC BY-NC 4.0, via iNaturalist.
dkirschke, CC BY-NC 4.0
Small's Beardtongue (Penstemon smallii). Photo by Troy Evans, CC BY-NC 4.0, via iNaturalist.
Troy Evans, CC BY-NC 4.0
Small's Beardtongue (Penstemon smallii). Photo by Troy Evans, CC BY-NC 4.0, via iNaturalist.
Troy Evans, CC BY-NC 4.0
Small's Beardtongue (Penstemon smallii). Photo by kingshroomalot, CC BY-NC 4.0, via iNaturalist.
kingshroomalot, CC BY-NC 4.0
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129803
Element CodePDSCR1L5R0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderPlantaginales
FamilyPlantaginaceae
GenusPenstemon
Other Common Names
Blue Ridge Beardtongue (EN) Small's beardtongue (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-02-08
Change Date1998-01-26
Edition Date2024-03-19
Edition AuthorsD. Gries, rev. A. Olivero (2002), rev. SE Ranking Workshop (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 300
Rank Reasons
Penstemon kralii is a perennial herb endemic to rocky woodlands, cliffs, glades, and roadbanks in the southern Appalachian Mountains and adjacent Piedmont in the southeastern United States. Potential threats for this species include development, logging, recreational activities, and rights-of-way maintenance. Monitoring of populations should be conducted to improve our understanding of reproduction, plant abundance, threats, and trends, as well as continuing conservation measures to protect the species.
Range Extent Comments
Penstemon smallii occurs in the southern Appalachian Mountains and nearby provinces, including the Piedmont, in northeastern Alabama (possibly historic), northwestern Georgia, western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, and eastern Tennessee in the southeastern United States (LeGrand et al. 2024, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023). At least in Georgia, the origin of some populations is dubious; it is suspected that some localities may represent old homesites where the species was originally cultivated, resulting in the species being ignored by some Georgia botanists (Patrick, 1999).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimen data, photo-based observation data, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between the years of 1995 and 2023, it is estimated that there are between 54 and 92 occurrences (iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024). Estimating occurrences is challenged by potentially cultivated occurrences (iNaturalist 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Penstemon smallii is potentially threatened by development, logging, recreational trails and use of outcrops and cliffs, and roadside or utility rights-of-way maintenance activities (Chafin 2020), though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Penstemon smallii grows in rocky, sunny or partially sunny habitats including rocky woodlands, forest openings and edges, rocky slopes, cliffs, bluffs, and glades; soils in Georgia are circumneutral and tend toward alkaline (more common on mafic or calcareous rocks) in North Carolina (Chafin 2020, LeGrand et al. 2024, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest EdgeWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedCliff
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
AlabamaS1Yes
TennesseeS3Yes
GeorgiaS1Yes
South CarolinaS2Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (4)
Georgia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Boggs CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,073
Helton CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,348
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Harper CreekPisgah National Forest7,325
Wilson CreekPisgah National Forest4,863
References (12)
  1. Chafin, L.G. 2020. Species account for <i>Penstemon smallii </i>for Georgia Department of Natural Resources website. https://georgiabiodiversity.org/natels/profile?es_id=16885 (accessed 2024).
  2. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  3. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  4. Kartesz, J.T., and C. Meacham. 1998a. Unpublished review draft of Floristic Synthesis, 8 Jan. 1998. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC.
  5. LeGrand, H., B. Sorrie, and T. Howard. 2024. Vascular Plants of North Carolina [Internet]. Raleigh (NC): North Carolina Biodiversity Project and North Carolina State Parks. Available from https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/index.php. (accessed 2024).
  6. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  7. Patrick, T. 1999. Notes on the status of eleven vascular plants found in Georgia. Georgia Natural Heritage Program. Mailed to Deborah Gries at The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia; dated 28 June 1999.
  8. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
  9. Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.
  10. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  11. Weakley, A.S. 2000. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia: working draft of May 15, 2000. Unpublished draft, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Resource Office.
  12. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.