Penstemon laetus

Gay penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Gay penstemon is a California native perennial herb found in Sierra Nevada Mountains in rocky or gravelly areas at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces vibrant violet-blue flowers 21 to 35 millimeters long with distinctive short glandular exteriors. Growing with erect woody-branched stems 15 to 75 centimeters tall, its herbage is generally hairy. Its leaves are primarily cauline, with distal leaves 15 to 100 millimeters long, linear to lanceolate in shape and entire. The flower's inner anther sacs have long-hairy margins, with a glabrous staminode adding to its unique botanical character.

California counties: Kern, Tulare, Tuolumne, Lassen, El Dorado, Yuba, Orange, Ventura, Mariposa, Calaveras, Plumas, Los Angeles, Placer, Siskiyou, Sierra, Nevada, Trinity, Madera, Humboldt, Modoc, Del Norte, Fresno, Butte, Shasta, Lake, Napa, Inyo, Tehama, Contra Costa, Amador, Santa Barbara

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