Penstemon clevelandii var. clevelandii

Cleveland's beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cleveland's beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the Peninsular Ranges and southern desert regions in rocky hillsides, rock crevices, creosote-bush scrub, juniper and pinyon woodland, and chaparral at elevations of 400 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pale lavender to purple flowers with distinctive spreading anther sacs. Growing with erect stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it develops a clumped, somewhat woody habit. Its leaves are variable, ranging from entire to moderately serrate, with upper stem leaves having cordate-clasping or rounded bases that subtly embrace the stem. The staminode is notably glabrous or sparsely hairy, adding to its delicate botanical character.

Habitat: Rocky hillsides, rock crevices in creosote-bush scrub, juniper/pinyon woodland, chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 400-1800 m

Bioregions: PR/DSon

California counties: San Diego, Imperial

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