Penstemon speciosus

Royal beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Royal beardtongue is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, Great Basin, and northern Desert Mountains in open sagebrush scrub to subalpine forest at elevations of 850 to 3,800 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces striking blue flowers with white interiors, 25 to 37 millimeters long with a distinctive abruptly expanded throat. Growing with erect stems 5 to 60 centimeters tall that are short-hairy, it forms an upright and compact habit. Its upper stem leaves are lanceolate, 35 to 90 millimeters long, clasping the stem and sometimes folded lengthwise, typically glabrous. The flowers feature distinctive anther sacs that are slightly S-shaped and pubescent on the sides, giving the plant its characteristically intricate appearance.

Habitat: Open sagebrush scrub to subalpine forest

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 850-3800 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, SNH, TR, GB, n DMtns

California counties: Alpine, Inyo, San Diego, Kern, Mono, Tulare, Fresno, Butte, Modoc, Placer, Lassen, Siskiyou, Plumas, Sierra, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Shasta, San Bernardino, Ventura, Nevada, Tuolumne, Amador, Mariposa, Tehama, Santa Barbara, Madera

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