Penstemon humilis var. humilis

Low beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Low beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the high Sierra Nevada and Great Basin regions in open montane to subalpine forests, sagebrush scrub, and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,500 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue flowers with a lighter yellow or white hairy floor, featuring a cylindric to narrowly funnel-shaped corolla 11 to 15 millimeters long. Growing in mat-forming clusters 5 to 35 centimeters tall with stems that are short-hairy, it has a distinctive growth pattern. Its leaves include numerous basal leaves 20 to 75 millimeters long, broadly obovate and petioled, with cauline leaves that are lanceolate to obovate and sessile, clasping the stem. The plant features an orange to yellow-hairy staminode and glandular-lined flower surfaces, creating a unique botanical profile.

Habitat: Open montane to subalpine forests, sagebrush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1500-3000 m

Bioregions: CaRH, GB

California counties: Siskiyou, Inyo, Modoc, Mono, El Dorado, Lassen

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