Penstemon albomarginatus

White-margined beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

White-margined beardtongue is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native perennial found in the Mojave Desert in loose desert sand and stabilized dunes at elevations of 700 to 900 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pink to purple flowers with white-margined calyces approximately 13 to 17 millimeters long. Growing 15 to 35 centimeters tall with stems generally partially buried in sand, it has a glabrous appearance and a distinctive growth form. Its leaves are uniquely designed, with proximal leaves scale-like and distal leaves 15 to 50 millimeters long, oblanceolate with white margins, and entire or weakly dentate. The plant's white-margined calyx lobes and delicate pink to purple flowers make it a distinctive species of desert sand environments.

Habitat: Loose desert sand, generally on stabilized dunes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 700-900 m

Bioregions: DMoj

California counties: San Bernardino

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