Snapdragon penstemon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Snapdragon penstemon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Genus:	Keckiella
Species:	K. antirrhinoides
Binomial name
Keckiella antirrhinoides (Benth.) Straw
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The Keckiella antirrhinoides is a type of flowering shrub. It belongs to the plantain family. People often call it the snapdragon penstemon or chaparral beardtongue.

This plant grows naturally in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert areas. You can find it in California, Arizona, and northern Baja California. It also lives where the chaparral and Colorado Desert meet, especially in the Peninsular Ranges.

About the Snapdragon Penstemon

Keckiella antirrhinoides is a desert shrub. It usually grows from about half a meter to two and a half meters tall. Its branches spread out wide.

The leaves grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem. They are up to 2 centimeters long. Their shape is like a spearhead or a narrow oval. These leaves fall off during dry times to save water.

The plant makes flower clusters that look like small branches. These clusters hold snapdragon-like flowers. Each flower is about 2 centimeters wide. It is hairy and has tiny glands.

The flower has three bottom parts that lie flat or curve down. Two top parts join to form a curved lip. Inside, you can see shiny, thread-like parts called stamens. These stamens hold pollen. There is also a flat, hairy part called a staminode. This part does not make pollen. The flowers are light yellow when fresh. They turn almost black when they dry.