Keckiella cordifolia

Climbing penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Climbing penstemon is a California native shrub found in southern Santa Lucia Mountains and southwestern California in chaparral and forest habitats at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces vibrant red to red-orange flowers with long tubular corollas 31 to 43 millimeters in length. Growing with spreading stems up to 3 meters tall, it has young stems that are glabrous to short-hairy. Its leaves are nearly opposite with ovate blades 20 to 65 millimeters long, featuring rounded to heart-shaped bases and margins with 3 to 11 short teeth. The plant's inflorescence is distinctively glandular and stiffly hairy, with a staminode densely covered in yellow hairs.

Habitat: Chaparral, forest

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO, SW

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Alameda, San Francisco

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