Penstemon heterodoxus var. cephalophorus

Sierra beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra beardtongue is a California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada Mountains on subalpine and alpine slopes, meadows, and scree at elevations of 1,900 to 3,200 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces flowers in compact clusters with 2 to 6 strongly glandular flower heads. Growing 15 to 35 centimeters tall with erect stems, it develops a compact, clustered form typical of alpine environments. Its leaves are relatively large, measuring 20 to 70 millimeters long and 6 to 14 millimeters wide, providing substantial surface area for high-elevation photosynthesis. The plant's glandular characteristics and compact alpine growth make it well-adapted to harsh mountain conditions.

Habitat: Subalpine and alpine slopes, meadows, scree

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1900-3200 m

Bioregions: n&amps SNH.

California counties: Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mono, Alpine, Siskiyou, Placer, El Dorado, Tuolumne

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