Graham's penstemon on white shales

Description:

Penstemon grahamii grows in soils derived from the Green River formation in dense to loosely scattered white shales (and you can see why they are also referred to as "oil shales" from this picture; there are a number of plant species obligate to this kind of habitat that are sometimes referred to as oil shale endemics).This is the type of surface that companies like Enefit (owned by the country of Estonia), Tomco and Red Leaf Resources want to strip mine in the Uintah Basin.In surveying for a species like this, would you count this as one plant or two? It appears to be two plants perhaps at first glance, with an adult plant (at center) that was one of the few plants we saw that was getting ready to bloom on this date and after walking around in its habitat in several areas (2006 was a very tough year for this species); but a closer look indicates it is probably a single, adult plant.May 27, 2006, Sunday School Canyon, Uintah County, Utah.