Sierra beardtongue facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sierra beardtongue
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Genus:	Penstemon
Species:	P. heterodoxus
Binomial name
Penstemon heterodoxus A.Gray
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Penstemon heterodoxus is a type of plant often called the Sierra beardtongue. It's a beautiful wildflower that grows naturally in California and western Nevada. You can find it in many mountain areas, like the Klamath Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. It also grows on the hills and flat lands to the east. This plant likes cool places, so it lives in high mountain forests, open meadows, and rocky slopes.

About the Sierra Beardtongue

The Sierra beardtongue is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It's also an herb, which means it has soft stems, not woody ones like a tree.

What Does it Look Like?

This plant can grow in a few ways. Its stems can stand straight up, reaching about 65 centimeters (about 2 feet) tall. Or, it might grow low to the ground, forming a spreading mat.

Its leaves are shaped like a spear (lance-shaped) or a long oval (oblong). The pairs of leaves higher up on the stem sometimes wrap around the stem itself.

Flowers and How They Grow

The flowers of the Sierra beardtongue grow in a special arrangement called an inflorescence. This plant has 1 to 6 separate groups of flowers. Each flower is a dark purple-blue tube, just over a centimeter long.

The outside of the flower often has tiny, sticky hairs. Inside the flower, near its opening, there are also hairs. There are also hairs on a special part called the staminode. A staminode is like a fake stamen; it doesn't make pollen but can help guide insects.