Species Identification

Interested in the identification of penstemons? Please select a species then click on submit:

Attribute	The current selection is Penstemon_heterophyllus
Classification	Penstemon Saccanthera Saccanthera Heterophylli
General	Varied Leaf Penstemon. Blooms: April to July.
Anther	2.2-3 mm (<1/4”) long, opening across common tip to 1/-2/3 their length, inner margins long-hairy.
Staminode	Smooth.
Leaves	20-95 mm (3-5”) long, usually cauline, linear to oblanceolate, (sub)entire; base tapered.
Stems	25-150 cm (9-50”) tall, wood-branched below; base tapered.
Inflorescense	Glabrous to short-hairy.
Corolla	23-40 mm (1-1/2”) long, magenta to blue, smooth, buds yellow.
Flower Color
Calyx	4.2-8 mm (1/8-1/4”) long, lobes lanceolate-acuminate to obovate
Habitat	Grasslands, chaparral, forest openings; 50-1600 m (30-500’) elevation.
Range	Coast Ranges along California coast and foothills of Sierra Nevada. variety heterophyllus: bunchleaf beardtongue, with linear, smooth leaves. variety australis: foothill beardtongue, with leaves in bunches, occurs south of San Francisco. variety purdyi: Purdy’s beardtongue found north of var. australis with auxiliary leaf clusters at lower nodes, wider leaves rarely in clusters and fuzzy inflorescence.