The sparse woodlands of widely scattered western junipers and lodgepole pines are interrupted by patches of montaine chaparral species such as Pinemat Manzanita, Huckleberry Oak, and Mountain Pride Penstemon clinging to the expanses of barren rock.
It feeds on nectar of a Penstemon species on the Beartooth Plateau, Montana, as well as on Mertensia paniculata and a Senecio, likely Senecio lugens at Pink Mountain, British Columbia.
The nursery is set in and around a brick and flint walled garden, and is home to the NCCPG National Collections of Buddleja and Clematis viticella, and the Gilchrist Collection of Penstemons.
The plant was originally named after an early spelling of Penstemon by Carl Linnaeus that added an extra "t".
Several plant taxa are endemic to Steens Mountain, including Castilleja pilosa var. steenensis, Cirsium peckii, Draba cusickii var. cusickii, Penstemon davidsonii var. praeteritus, and Poa chambersii.
Penstemon | ''Penstemon davidsonii'' var. ''praeteritus'' | Penstemon navajoa | Penstemon caesius |
The Navajo Mountain beardtongue (Penstemon navajoa) is a rare plant limited mainly to the upper elevation slopes of Navajo Mountain.