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Plant Profile

Metcalfe's Bush-beardtongue (Penstemon metcalfei)

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Plantaginaceae
State: NM
Nature Serve ID: 130209
Lifeform: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 11/07/2024

Description:

Where is Metcalfe's Bush-beardtongue (Penstemon metcalfei) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

Metcalfe's Bush-beardtongue can be found in New Mexico

Which CPC Partners conserve Metcalfe's Bush-beardtongue (Penstemon metcalfei)?

Institute for Applied Ecology

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 11/07/24

National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation (USDA-ARS)

Not Sponsored

Assigned 11/07/24

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

Tom Kaye

11/12/2024

Penstemon metcalfei is a particularly range-limited member of the beardtongue genus, only found in two canyons of the Black Range of the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico. The IAE collected samples from a limited, accessable population, estimated at 450 individuals, though there are no doubt many more in the area. Due to phenology, only a limited collection was possible in mid-October. Associated species include Quercus gambelii, Pinus ponderosa, Populus tremuloides, Robinia neomexicana, Muhlenbergia montana. Another Penstemon, P. barbatus, is observed to occur in the same area.

Though a population-wide census has not been conducted, it appears P. metcalfei can thrive in open and burned areas, though New Mexico locust may outcompete it in areas where it predominates.