Mountain Pride

Raceme of pink mountain pride flowers
showing their “bearded tongues”

Various penstemon species are native to the Sierra Nevada. Newberry's penstemon (Penstemon newberryi), commonly known as mountain pride, is one of them [1-3]. This wildflower typically grows on rocky slopes at a broad elevation range. The shown plant was found in the Tahoe National Forest on a hike to the Salmon and Loch Leven lakes along a mid-elevation section of the Loch Leven Trail.

The deep pink flowers are usually turning to one side in a short raceme; in contrast to other penstemons such as Wilcox's penstemon with a whorl of flowers. Each tubular flower opens with a two-lobed upper and a three-lobed lower lip. Two lower ridges inside the corolla and four of the five anthers are hairy; giving the impression of bearded tongues playing wild in the corolla-mouth. Due to this interesting feature of penstemons, the name beard-tongue is synonymously employed.

A mountain pride plant can reach a height of 30 cm (12″). Along the erect, rounded, rhubarb-colored stem grow opposite leaves—bigger and more dense near the plant's base. The leathery, green leaves are lanceolate to ovate in shape, often with a toothed margin.

Mountain pride looks similar to alpine penstemon (Penstemon davidsonii), which occurs in the same habitat and also may have toothed leaves. Alpine penstemon, however, is a smaller, matted plant with a more bluish flower color.

The genus Penstemon, formerly classified as Scrophulariaceae (Figworth family), is now placed in the family Plantaginaceae in the order Lamiales.

Erect plant of mountain pride
with tubular flowers turned
to one side

Rhubarb-colored stem of
mountain pride plant
with opposite leaves

Thick, leathery, green leave
of mountain pride with
toothed margin

References

[1]	*USDA Plants Profile: Penstemon newberryi* A. Gray, mountain pride** [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PENE3].
[2]	Laird R. Blackwell: Tahoe Wildflowers. Morris Book Publishing, LLC, Guilford, Connecticut, 2007, page 71.
[3]	Richard Spellenberg: North American Wildflowers, Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, Seventh printing, December 2007, pp. 772-780.

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers

Anderson's thistle
Brown's peony
Crimson columbine
Kelley's tiger lily
Lobb's buckwheat
Pretty face
White-patched blue lupine

Trailing Ahead

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