''Penstemon rostriflorus'' is a species of

penstemon ''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 250 species of flowering plants native mostly to the Nearctic, but with a few species also found in the North American portion of the Neotropics. It is the largest genus of flowering ...

known by the common names beaked penstemon, Bridge penstemon, or Bridges' penstemon. It is native to the Southwestern United States and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where it grows in many types of

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

, chaparral, scrub, woodland, and forest habitat.

Description

''Penstemon rostriflorus'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb growing in clumps of many erect stems from a woody base. It may reach 1 m (3 ft.) in height. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped, smooth-edged, and up to 7 centimeters long. The glandular

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

bears tubular red to orange-red flowers 2 to 3 centimeters long. The mouth of the flower has a hooded upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
rostriflorus Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Plantaginaceae-stub