Penstemon cinicola

Ash beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Ash beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the Great Basin in dry, rocky, igneous soils within sagebrush openings of montane forests at elevations of 1,250 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces blue-purple flowers 6 to 9 millimeters long with a distinctive yellow-hairy staminode. Growing 15 to 40 centimeters tall with an upright habit, it has glabrous or short-hairy stems near the base. Its leaves are cauline, 30 to 60 millimeters long, linear in shape, folded lengthwise, and arching-recurved. The plant's calyx has widely obovate lobes with jagged-toothed tips, adding to its unique botanical character.

Habitat: Dry, rocky, igneous soils, in sagebrush openings of montane forests

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1250-2700 m

Bioregions: GB

California counties: Mono, Lassen, Siskiyou, Shasta, Modoc, Tehama, El Dorado

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