Penstemon bicolor

Pinto beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pinto beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the Castle Mountains in creosote-bush and Joshua-tree woodland at elevations of 700 to 1,500 meters. Flowering in May, this plant produces cream to magenta flowers with distinctive dark lines, approximately 18 to 24 millimeters long. Growing up to 1.5 meters tall with glabrous herbage, it has thick leaves that clasp around the stem, with upper leaves 4 to 11 centimeters long and sharply serrate. Its leaves are ovate-shaped, positioned along the stem with a distinctive base that encircles the stem. The flower's throat is 6 to 11 millimeters wide when pressed, with a staminode densely covered in yellow hairs.

Habitat: Gravelly or rocky soils, creosote-bush or blackbush scrub, Joshua-tree woodland

Bloom period: May

Elevation: 700-1500 m

Bioregions: DMtns (Castle Mtns)

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.