Penstemon azureus is a flowering plant species known by the common name azure penstemon.
Penstemon barnebyi is a species of penstemon known by the common names White River Valley beardtongue and Barneby's beardtongue. It is native to the mountain and basin territory of central western Nevada, where it grows in sagebrush and woodland; there is also one occurrence just over the California border. This is a hairy perennial herb with erect branches reaching 30 centimeters (1 ft) in maximum height. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped and up to 7.5 centimeters (3 in) long. There are usually several located around the base of the plant. The inflorescence produces tubular flowers just over one-half centimeter long. They are light purple with a purple-striped white throat lined with yellowish hairs. The protruding staminode is covered in bright orange hairs.
Penstemon calcareus is a species of penstemon known by the common name limestone beardtongue. It is native to California, where it is known from the deserts of central San Bernardino County, as well as the Death Valley area, where its distribution extends just over the border into Nevada. It grows in scrub and woodland, often on limestone substrates. It is a perennial herb with erect branches up to about 25 centimeters in maximum height, grayish with a coating of fine hairs. The toothed, lance-shaped leaves are up to 6 centimeters long. The inflorescence produces bright pink to purplish tubular or funnel-shaped flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The flower has a glandular outer surface and a staminode coated with yellow hairs.
Penstemon californicus is a species of penstemon known by the common name California penstemon. It is native to Baja California and is also known from fewer than 20 occurrences in California, mainly in Orange and Riverside Counties. It grows in the forest and woodland habitat of the Peninsular Ranges and nearby slopes. This is a perennial herb with many spreading or upright branches 30 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves are no more than 1.5 centimeters long with linear or lance-shaped blades borne on petioles. The inflorescence produces tubular flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long, purple to blue in color with dark-striped white throats containing hairy staminodes.
Penstemon filiformis is an uncommon species of penstemon known by the common name threadleaf beardtongue. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of northern California, where it grows in forest and woodland, often on serpentine soils. It is a perennial herb growing up to half a meter tall, its stem hairy and woody toward the base. The leaves are very narrow, linear and rolled to threadlike, reaching up to 7 centimeters long, those low on the plant sometimes borne in clusters. The inflorescence produces hairless, tubular or funnel-shaped blue to purple flowers just over a centimeter in length.
Penstemon fruticiformis is a species of penstemon known by the common name Death Valley beardtongue. It is native to the western United States, where it is found growing in rocky scrub, woodlands, deserts and mountains of eastern California and western Nevada. It is known from scattered occurrences around Death Valley, and only one of the two varieties occurs on the Nevada side of the border. It is a perennial herb producing spreading, multibranched, hairless and waxy stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The thick leaves are generally lance-shaped, folded and rolled, and up to 6.5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence produces several white or pale pinkish-lavender flowers between 2 and 3 centimeters long. The mouth of the flower bears a stark, dark line on each of its three lower lobes, nectar guides for its pollinators which probably include native bumble bees.
Penstemon gracilentus is a species of penstemon known by the common names slender beardtongue and slender penstemon. It is native to the mountains and sagebrush plateau of northeastern California, western Nevada, and southern Oregon, where it grows in forest, woodland, and scrub habitat. It is a perennial herb producing upright branches to about 65 centimeters in maximum height, the stems developing woody bases. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters in length and linear or lance-shaped. The glandular inflorescence produces several tubular purple flowers up to 2 centimeters long. The mouth of each flower may be hairless or coated in long hairs, and the staminode usually has a coat of yellow hairs.
Penstemon heterodoxus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Sierra beardtongue. It is native to California and western Nevada where it grows in several of the mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains to the Sierra Nevada - and the slopes and plateaus to the east. It grows in subalpine and alpine climates in mountain forests, meadows and talus.
Penstemon laetus is a species of penstemon known by the common names mountain blue penstemon and gay penstemon. It is native to the inland mountains of Oregon and California, where its distribution extends from the Klamath Mountains through the Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges. It grows in forest, scrub, and other local mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 75 centimeters tall, its base becoming woody. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and up to 10 centimeters long. The glandular inflorescence bears blue or purple flowers up to 3.5 centimeters long. The wide-mouthed tubular or funnel-shaped flower is glandular on the outer surface and mostly hairless on the inside.
Penstemon monoensis is a species of penstemon known by the common name Mono penstemon. It is endemic to the White and Inyo Mountains of eastern California, where it grows in scrub, woodland, and sandy washes. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 30 centimeters tall, gray-green in color from a dense coating of light hairs. The paired leaves are lance-shaped, sometimes toothed or wavy along the edges and up to 12 centimeters long. The glandular inflorescence bears cylindrical or funnel-shaped flowers in shades of bright to deep pink, measuring around 2 centimeters in length. The mouth of the flower may have a white or pale area on the floor with a patch of hairs, and the staminode is usually hairy.
Penstemon neotericus is a species of penstemon known by the common name Plumas County beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the northern Sierra Nevada and adjacent southern peaks of the Cascade Range. It grows in forest, scrub, and other mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 80 centimeters tall, becoming woody toward the base. The paired leaves are lance-shaped and nearly 9 centimeters in maximum length. The glandular inflorescence bears blue-purple or pinkish flowers up to 4 centimeters long. The flowers have white, mostly hairless mouths and hairless staminodes.
Penstemon newberryi is a species of penstemon known by the common name mountain pride or Newberry's penstemon. It is native to the mountains of northern California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in rocky habitat, often at high elevation, such as talus. It is a bushy, mat-forming subshrub growing up to 30 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly basal on the plant, oblong or oval and toothed, measuring 1 to 4 centimeters in length, with a few smaller pairs along the stem. The glandular inflorescence bears showy magenta flowers 2 to over 3 centimeters in length. The flower is generally tubular or funnel-shaped and has a coating of short to long and curly hairs in the mouth and on the staminode.
Penstemon patens is a species of penstemon known by the common name Lone Pine beardtongue. It is native to the central Sierra Nevada of California and slopes and plateau to the east, its distribution extending just into Nevada. It grows in forest, woodland, and scrub habitat types. It is a perennial herb producing hairless, waxy stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. The thick, lance-shaped, gray-green, opposite leaves are up to 9 centimeters long and 2 wide. There are usually many leaves clustered around the base of the plant and smaller pairs higher on the stem. The inflorescence bears wide-mouthed tubular flowers up to 2 centimeters long with corollas in shades of lavender to magenta. The flower is mostly hairless except for the staminode which may have a coat of orange or yellowish hairs.
Penstemon roezlii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Roezl's penstemon. It is native to Oregon, western Nevada, and adjacent sections of northern California, including the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, where it grows in sagebrush and forest habitat types. It is a hairy, erect perennial herb growing to a maximum height of 55 centimeters from a woody, branching base. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long, linear to widely lance-shaped and often folded lengthwise. The glandular inflorescence bears wide-mouthed tubular flowers up to 2.2 centimeters long in shades of blue-purple. The flowers are mostly hairless except for thin glandular hairs on the outer surfaces.
Penstemon rostriflorus is a species of penstemon known by the common names beaked penstemon, Bridge penstemon, or Bridges' penstemon.
Penstemon thurberi is a species of penstemon known by the common names Thurber's beardtongue and Thurber's penstemon. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of desert and mountain habitat, including sandy flats, chaparral, scrub, and woodlands. It is a shrub growing erect and somewhat rounded in form, reaching around 80 centimeters in maximum height. Many slender stems emerge from its woody base. The leaves are narrow, linear in shape, with edges rolled upward nearly into a tube. The long inflorescence bears funnel-shaped lavender, pink, or pale blue-purple flowers up to 1.5 centimeters in length.
Penstemon venustus is a species of penstemon known by the common names Venus penstemon and alpine penstemon. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in many types of open habitat. It is a spreading shrub growing erect to a maximum height near 80 centimeters. The thick, stiff leaves are lance-shaped, serrated, and up to 12 centimeters in length. The showy inflorescence bears many tubular lavender flowers, the largest nearly 4 centimeters long. The mouth of the flower and the staminode are covered in long, white hairs. This penstemon is cultivated for use in wilderness landscaping in its native habitat.
Penstemon pinorum is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Pine Valley penstemon and pinyon penstemon. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from an area along the border between Washington and Iron Counties.
Penstemon rhizomatosus is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Scheel Creek beardtongue and rhizome beardtongue. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it occurs only in the Schell Creek Range of White Pine County.
Penstemon gibbensii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Gibbens' beardtongue. It is native to the western United States, where it occurs in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
