Keckiella antirrhinoides var. antirrhinoides

Chaparral beard tongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Chaparral beard tongue is a California native shrub found in southern coastal, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in chaparral and oak forest at elevations of 100 to 1,100 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces yellow to reddish flowers with widely ovate calyx lobes. Growing with finely hairy stems up to one meter tall, it forms a dense, compact shrub with intricate branching. Its leaves are small and narrow, typical of drought-adapted chaparral plants, creating a delicate texture against the landscape. The plant's distinctive flowers, with their bearded appearance and rich coloration, provide an important nectar source for local pollinators in California's Mediterranean ecosystems.

Habitat: Chaparral, oak forest

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 100-1100 m

Bioregions: SCo, TR, PR

California counties: San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Imperial, Orange, San Mateo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.