Graham's penstemon leaves are thick and leathery, so moisture is released more slowly in the heat of the day. Photo © Susan Meyer
An Imperiled Native Wildflower
As well adapted as Graham’s penstemon is to its harsh environment, it doesn’t stand a chance against oil and gas drilling and exploration activities, off-road vehicles, or livestock trampling. This species is found only in northwestern Colorado and Utah’s Uinta Basin (referred to by the BLM as “Utah’s oil patch”), and grows only on oil shale soils. In 2008, the national Endangered Species Coalition released a report titled “Without a Net: Top Ten Wildlife, Fish and Plants Most in Need of Endangered Species Protection”, and included Graham’s penstemon as an honorable mention.
Natural History
The lovely pale lavender flowers of the Graham’s penstemon, with their magenta-striped throats and fiery orange staminodes, make this little plant such a delight that it has been featured on the cover of more than one book. But this is no delicate wildflower – it is only found on oil shale barrens where most other plants could never withstand the blazing heat reflected from the surrounding white shale fragments. A member of the figwort family, the penstemon grows only as tall as eight inches, but bears surprisingly large, tubular flowers for its size. The flowers display densely bearded staminodes (sterile stamens, producing no pollen) with golden orange hairs, and long, deep violet lines that reach down the throat of the flower, called bee guides. These two structures are thought to have evolved to entice pollinators to the flower’s nectar stores. Graham’s penstemon grows on sparsely vegetated outcrops of the Green River Formation at 4600 to 6700 feet elevation, and is found only in the Uinta Basin of Utah and adjacent Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
Conservation Status
-No formal protection
Action Taken
We petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finally give this species the protections it requires, and asked them to do it on an emergency basis. Finally, in January 2006 the Service determined that the penstemon needed to be protected, however, by the end of that year, the Service abruptly reversed course and claimed that threats to the plant no longer existed. In late 2008, we challenged this decision. While we wait for a decision, we seek to protect penstemon habitat from immediate threats, including oil and gas drilling, seismic exploration, road construction, and land swaps.
Learn More
High-resolution Photo of Graham’s Penstemon (Credit Susan Meyer)
2009 Union of Concerned Scientists Feature on Corruption Underlying Penstemon Decision
2002 Petition to Protect Graham’s Penstemon under the Endangered Species Act
January 2006 Proposal to Protect Graham’s Penstemon as Threatened
December 2006 Final Denial of Protection for Graham’s Penstemon
Endangered Species Coalition 2008 Report Featuring Graham’s Penstemon “Without A Net – Top Ten Fish, Wildlife, and Plants in Need of Endangered Species Act Protection”
2008 KGNU Interview with Erin Robertson
