Penstemon gracilentus

Slender beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Slender beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the northern Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, and Modoc Plateau in sagebrush scrub, juniper woodland, and yellow-pine to subalpine forests at elevations of 900 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces red- to blue-purple flowers 15 to 20 millimeters long with a distinctive yellow-hairy staminode. Growing with woody-branched stems 25 to 65 centimeters tall, it has an upright, slender form with glabrous herbage. Its leaves are primarily cauline, with distal leaves 40 to 100 millimeters long, linear to narrowly lanceolate, and entirely smooth-edged. The plant's glandular inflorescence and vibrant flower color make it a striking component of its high-elevation habitats.

Habitat: Sagebrush scrub, juniper woodland, yellow-pine to subalpine forests

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 900-2800 m

Bioregions: CaR, n SNH, MP

California counties: Sierra, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Butte, Lassen, Placer, Alpine, Modoc, Nevada, Tehama, El Dorado, Inyo, Ventura, Tuolumne, Kern, Mono

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