Navajo Mountain beardtongue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Navajo Mountain beardtongue |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Penstemon
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| Species: |
navajoa
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The Penstemon navajoa is a very rare flowering plant. It is also known as the Navajo Mountain beardtongue or Navajo beardtongue. This special plant belongs to the plantain family.
It grows only in Utah, in the United States. You can find it mainly in San Juan County. This makes it an endemic species, meaning it naturally lives in just one small area.
What Does It Look Like?
This plant is a perennial herb. This means it is a plant that lives for more than two years and does not have a woody stem. It can grow to be about 20 to 40 centimeters tall. That's like the length of a standard ruler!
The Navajo beardtongue has pretty blue flowers. These flowers have white "beards," which are soft, hairy parts inside the flower. It usually blooms in July and August.
Where Does It Grow?
This plant likes to grow in open areas. You can often find it in coniferous forests. These are forests filled with trees like pines and firs.
There are only five places where this plant is known to grow. Most of these spots are high up on Navajo Mountain. This mountain is located within the Navajo Nation lands.
Protecting This Rare Plant
Because there are so few of these plants, they are very rare. They might be in danger from things like wildfires. Efforts to put out fires, called firefighting, could also sometimes harm the plants. Protecting their habitat is important to help this unique plant survive.
