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Plant Profile

Tiger Beardtongue (Penstemon mensarum)

Photo Credit: Alexandra Seglias

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Plantaginaceae
State: CO
Nature Serve ID: 131240
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 10/29/2019

Description:

Plants 4-10 dm tall, with one to multiple erect stems; stems glabrous to glandular; leaves are glabrous and entire, elliptic or oblong basally and oblong-lanceolate along stem, 6-20 cm long. Calyx glandular-hairy, 3-5 mm long; corolla dark blue to blue-purple, 14-20 mm long, glandular-hairy externally, glabrous internally; staminode bearded most of its length

Where is Tiger Beardtongue (Penstemon mensarum) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Found in meadows, spruce-fir forests, aspen forests, and oak forests at 7,400-10,200 ft. on the Western Slope of Colorado. Associated species include Rosa woodsii, Cirsium scariosum, Helianthella quinquenervis, Lupinus argenteus, Festuca thurberi, Ipomopsis aggregata, Geranium viscosissimum, Castilleja linarifolia, Geranium richardsonii, Padus virginiana, Rubus parviflora, Symphoricarpos rotundifolious, Potentilla pulcherrima, and Phacelia sericea.

Distribution:

Endemic to Colorado. Found in Delta, Gunnison, Mesa, and Pitkin counties. Distribution is about 13,400 square kilometers.

States & Provinces:

Tiger Beardtongue can be found in Colorado

Which CPC Partners conserve Tiger Beardtongue (Penstemon mensarum)?

Denver Botanic Gardens

Not Sponsored

Assigned 10/29/19

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Alexandra Seglias

10/30/2019

Seed was collected from two populations in Colorado in 2019, one in Gunnison County and one in Mesa County. The first trip for seed collection took place in mid-August, but we found that not enough fruits were ripe to make an adequate collection for ex situ conservation. We returned in early September to find the fruits perfectly ripe - just opening up so the seeds were visible inside. We found aphids on quite a few plants, but they did not seem to be attacking the seeds.

Both populations seem to be healthy and stable, but this is the first year that we have visited the populations and made seed collections. Based on Element Occurrence Records from the Colorado Natural Heritage, we believe that the populations are stable and there are no immediate threats. The biggest threats include road travel and invasive species. Both populations are located along Forest Service Roads, which are becoming more and more trafficked with people recreating in Colorado. Additionally, we saw invasive species among the populations, including Bromus and Cirsium.

We will perform germination tests with these populations to get baseline information for change in viability during storage.