⚠ sources differ — GIFT: 0.91 m · USDA: 0.914 m · TRY: 0.223 m
Seed mass0.396 mg
⚠ sources differ — TRY: 0.396 mg · GIFT: 0.469 mg
Seed mass max0.37 mg
Seed mass min0.37 mg
Life cycle & reproduction24
After harvest regrowth rateRapid
Bloom periodLate Summer
Coppice potentialNo
Flower colourpurple
Flower conspicuousYes
Fruit seed period beginFall
Fruit seed period endFall
Growth rate USDARapid
Life formperennial
Life spanperennial
Lifespan categoryShort
Propagated by bare rootNo
Propagated by bulbNo
Propagated by containerYes
Propagated by cormNo
Propagated by cuttingsNo
Propagated by seedYes
Propagated by sodNo
Propagated by sprigsNo
Propagated by tubersNo
Resprout abilityNo
Seed spread rateModerate
Seedling vigorMedium
Vegetative spread rateNone
Habitat & environment22
Active growth periodSpring and Summer
Adapted to coarse textured soilsYes
Adapted to fine textured soilsNo
Adapted to medium textured soilsYes
BloatNone
Climatesubalpine or subarctic
Climberself-supporting
Foliage colorGreen
Foliage porosity summerModerate
Foliage porosity winterPorous
Foliage textureMedium
Fruit colourbrown
Growth formHS
Growth form USDAMultiple Stem
Hedge toleranceHigh
Known allelopathNo
Leaf retentionNo
Low growing grassNo
Root depth min6 in
Shape and orientationErect
Small grainNo
Woodinessvariable
Physiology & chemistry23
Anaerobic toleranceNone
C:N ratioMedium
Caco3 toleranceHigh
Cold stratification requiredYes
Drought toleranceMedium
Fertility requirementLow
Fire resistantNo
Fire toleranceHigh
Frost free days min117 days
Leaf c450 mg/g
Leaf dry-matter content (LDMC)345 mg/g
Leaf n20.29 mg/g
Moisture useMedium
Nitrogen fixation levelNone
Precipitation max35 in
Precipitation min13 in
Protein potentialHigh
Salinity toleranceNone
Shade toleranceMedium
Soil pH max8 pH
Soil pH min7 pH
Specific leaf area (SLA)14.69 mm²/mg
Temperature min-34 °F
Uses & economy15
Berry nut seed productNo
Christmas tree productNo
Commercial availabilityContracting Only
Fodder productNo
Lumber productNo
Naval store productNo
Nursery stock productYes
Palatable browse animalHigh
Palatable graze animalHigh
Palatable humanNo
Post productNo
Pulpwood productNo
Seeds per pound800 000 per lb
ToxicityNone
Veneer productNo
Other traits6
Fall conspicuousNo
Fruit seed abundanceHigh
Fruit seed conspicuousYes
Fruit seed persistenceNo
Planting density max4 800 per acre
Planting density min1 700 per acre
03Chemical composition15 compounds
Compounds documented for Penstemon whippleanus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Penstemon whippleanus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens2
Marker genes4
GenBank sequences5
eDNA detections2
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK1★rbcL1★ITS3★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT
The complete instruction manualPenstemon whippleanus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Genome size635 700 000 bp
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb
FUNGUS0.04 Gb
INSECT0.25 Gb
THIS GENOME Penstemon whippleanus0.64 Gb
HUMAN3.2 Gb
WHEAT17 Gb
FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
CCDB · book-ipcn67-71 — ZHUKOVA, P. G. 1967. Karyology of some plants, cultivated in the Arctic-Alpine Botanical Garden. (In Russian). In N. A. Avrorin (ed.): Plantarum in Zonam Polarem Transportatio. II. Leningrad 1967, pp. 139-149.
CCDB · kew — Broderick SR, Stevens MR, Geary B, Love SL, Jellen EN, Dockter RB, Daley SL, Lindgren DT. 2011. A survey of Penstemon's genome size. Genome 54: 160-173.
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy88% within 1 km
≤100 m 2 200≤1 km 382≤10 km 206>10 km 138
2 926 georeferenced · 1 911 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor4 837
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy58% within 1 km
≤100 m 104≤1 km 337≤10 km 287>10 km 30
758 georeferenced · 615 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence1 373
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions45 of 61 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Bronx, US
199
DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record
156
Albuquerque, US
128
Musee des Dinosaures d'Esperaza (Aude)location not on record
102
Denver, US
84
Flagstaff, US
76
Wuzhou, CN
64
Logan, US
55
Provo, US
50
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratorylocation not on record
48
Claremont, US
36
DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record
36
Durango, US
33
Pullman, US
28
Moscow, US
26
Orem, US
25
Riverside, US
25
Pocatello, US
23
ASUlocation not on record
21
EL PASO, US
11
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
8
Grand Junction, US
8
Boise, US
8
Phoenix, US
8
Weber State Universitylocation not on record
7
Pittsburg, US
6
USFSlocation not on record
6
Missoula, US
5
Caldwell, US
5
Saint Louis, US
5
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
4
WTUlocation not on record
4
San Luis Obispo, US
4
Tempe, US
4
Chadron, US
4
Bloomington, US
3
Mexico City, MX
3
Northridge, US
3
Millersville, US
3
San Angelo, US
3
Angwin, US
3
Bozeman, US
3
Burlington, US
2
Dekalb, US
2
US
2
Henderson, US
2
Wlocation not on record
2
Bangkok, TH
2
Columbia, US
2
Pomona Collegelocation not on record
2
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
1
San Diego, US
1
Mexico City, MX
1
US
1
Cslocation not on record
1
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciencelocation not on record
1
St. Paul, US
1
CASlocation not on record
1
GB
1
Lincoln, US
1
Davis, US
1
61 institutions · 1 360 of 1 373 vouchered records shown · 13 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Penstemon whippleanus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found2
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility6 210 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics2 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype