Penstemon barnebyi

Barneby's beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

Barneby's beardtongue is a rare (CNPS 2B.1) California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains in limestone gravel sagebrush scrub and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering in May, this plant produces violet and blue flowers with a white throat lined with dark markings, approximately 10 to 14 millimeters long. Growing with short, erect stems 6 to 30 centimeters tall and covered in backward-pointing hairs, it forms a compact herbaceous cluster. Its leaves range from 20 to 75 millimeters long, with well-developed basal leaves and lance-shaped upper stem leaves that are nearly entire. The flower's distinctive staminode is notably exserted, tipped with a coil and densely covered in orange-yellow hairs.

Habitat: Limestone gravel or silt in sagebrush scrub or pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May

Elevation: 1500-2500 m

Bioregions: W&ampI

California counties: Mono

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