Penstemon fruticiformis var. fruticiformis

Desert beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Desert beardtongue is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada and northern Mojave Desert in gravelly washes and canyon floors of creosote-bush scrub and pinyon-juniper woodland at elevations of 1,000 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers with a wide, open throat approximately 24 to 28 millimeters long. Growing with sturdy woody stems that form a distinctive shrubby structure, it develops a compact and resilient growth habit. Its leaves are arranged to create a dense, textured appearance, supporting the plant's adaptation to arid desert environments. The flower's pale calyx with widely ovate lobes and expansive corolla throat provide a distinctive visual signature in its harsh desert landscape.

Habitat: Gravelly washes, canyon floors in creosote-bush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: generally 1000-1700 m

Bioregions: s SNE, n DMoj.

California counties: Inyo, Kern

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