Penstemon heterophyllus var. australis

Southern foothill penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Southern foothill penstemon is a California native perennial found in San Francisco Bay, south Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in grassland, chaparral, and forest openings at elevations of 50 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces blue to purple flowers with delicate, trumpet-shaped blossoms. Growing with short, compact stems 15 to 30 centimeters tall, it develops distinctive axillary leaf clusters at lower nodes. Its leaves are narrow and linear, measuring 0.5 to 4 millimeters wide, with a distinctive short-hairy texture that adds visual interest to the plant. The dense clusters of blue-purple flowers and slender leaves make this penstemon a charming addition to California's native landscapes.

Habitat: Grassland, chaparral, forest openings

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 50-1700 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SCoR, TR, PR.

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, Monterey, San Bernardino, Kern, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Tuolumne, Merced, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, Sonoma, San Benito, Santa Clara, Colusa

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