Penstemon floridus var. austinii
Austin's beardtongue
Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Austin's beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the northern Death Mountains and Inyo Mountains in gravelly washes, canyon floors, sagebrush scrub, and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,400 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces flowers with a pale lavender to pink corolla that gradually expands to a wide throat, reaching up to 11 millimeters across when pressed. Growing with upright stems typical of beardtongue species, it develops a robust and compact form characteristic of mountain habitat plants. Its leaves are arranged in dense clusters, providing a structured and compact appearance against the rocky mountain landscapes. The flower's distinctive tubular shape, with a mouth perpendicular to its slender tube, offers a unique architectural quality to this desert mountain wildflower.
Habitat: Gravelly washes, canyon floors, in sagebrush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: 1400-3000 m
Bioregions: W&I (Inyo Mtns), n DMtns
California counties: Inyo
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.