Penstemon rupicola

Cliff beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Cliff beardtongue is a California native subshrub found in the Klamath Ranges and High Cascade Range on rocky outcrops and slopes in Douglas-fir forests at elevations of 1,300 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces rose, lavender, or violet flowers 25 to 38 millimeters long with a distinctive glabrous flower floor. Growing as a low-spreading mat just 5 to 14 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters with herbage that is spreading-hairy. Its basal leaves are widely obovate to nearly round, 7 to 20 millimeters long, with a bluish-green (glaucous) appearance and nearly entire edges. The plant features a glandular inflorescence with a calyx 4 to 10 millimeters long and lance-shaped lobes.

Habitat: Outcrops, rocky slopes in Douglas-fir forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1300-2300 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH

California counties: Del Norte, Trinity, Siskiyou, Shasta, Lake, Tehama, Mono, Mendocino

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