Inyo beardtongue facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Inyo beardtongue
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Genus:	Penstemon
Species:	P. papillatus
Binomial name
Penstemon papillatus J.T.Howell
Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist.

Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

The Penstemon papillatus, also known as the Inyo beardtongue, is a special type of penstemon plant. It's a beautiful wildflower found only in a specific part of California. This plant is quite rare and grows in unique places.

It is an endemic plant, meaning it naturally grows only in one area. For the Inyo beardtongue, that area is the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. You can find it growing on rocky slopes and in forest areas. It likes places where the ground is a bit rough and wild.

What Does It Look Like?

The Inyo beardtongue is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years and doesn't have a woody stem like a tree. Instead, its stems are soft and green. It can grow to be about 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) tall. That's roughly the length of a school ruler!

Stems and Leaves

This plant has a gray-green color and feels a bit hairy. As it gets older, the bottom part of its stem can become a little woody. Its leaves grow in pairs, one on each side of the stem. They are shaped like an oval and are actually joined together around the stem.

Flowers

The Inyo beardtongue produces lovely purple-blue flowers. These flowers grow in a cluster called an inflorescence. Each flower can be up to 3 centimeters (about 1.2 inches) long. Inside the flower, the opening is mostly smooth. However, there's a special part called a staminode that has yellow hairs. This staminode is a sterile stamen, meaning it doesn't produce pollen but can help guide pollinators.