Penstemon heterodoxus

Sierra beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra beardtongue is a California native perennial herb found in montane and alpine habitats of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at elevations typically ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces deep blue-purple flowers with a yellow-brown hairy flower floor, creating a striking contrast in color and texture. Growing as a mat-forming perennial with stems 5 to 65 centimeters tall, it develops a compact, low-growing structure with nearly glabrous herbage. Its leaves are predominantly basal with narrow cauline leaves that are lanceolate to ovate, sometimes folded lengthwise, and growing in an entire arrangement. The plant's distinctive corolla is cylindric to moderately expanded, measuring 10 to 16 millimeters long, with glandular outer surfaces and a uniquely colored flower interior.

California counties: Fresno, Tulare, Mono, Tuolumne, Inyo, Madera, El Dorado, Placer, Mariposa, Siskiyou, Sierra, Alpine, Amador, Trinity, Plumas, Nevada

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