Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Keckiella antirrhinoides (formerly Penstemon antirrhinoides) is a species of flowering shrub in the plantain family known by the common names snapdragon penstemon and chaparral beardtongue. It is native to the chaparral, deserts, and pinyon-juniper woodlands of California, Arizona, and adjacent Baja California. This shrub grows one half to two and a half meters tall, with spreading branches. The oppositely-arranged leaves are up to 2 centimeters long and are lance-shaped or narrow ovals. They are deciduous during dry periods. The plant produces branchlike flower clusters which bear snapdragon-like flowers. Each hairy flower is about 2 centimeters wide, with three lower lobes which lie flat or curve down and two upper lobes which join to form a curved lip. Inside the flower are shiny filamentous stamens holding anthers and a flat, densely hairy sterile stamen called a staminode. The flowers are light yellow and dry to nearly black. The plant will often drop many leaves after flowering.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

2 - 7 ft Tall
2 - 4 ft Wide

Form

Fountain, Rounded

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Fragrance

Pleasant

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Deer resistant

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low

Summer irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Ease of care

Moderate

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil description

Tolerates a variety of soils as long as adequate drainage is provided.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.5

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment. (Emery and Frey 1971).

Site type

Dry rocky slopes, canyons, and mesas of southern California primarily in Chaparral but also extending into Pinyon-Juniper Woodland and Creosote Bush Scrub

Plant communities

Chaparral, Creosote Bush Scrub, Pine-Juniper Woodland

Chaparral associates include California lilacs, California buckwheat, Scrub Oaks, Southern Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. subspicata), and Chaparral Yucca. Desert associates include Creosote Bush, Brittlebush and Desert Agave. Pinyon-Juniper associates include Pinus spp., California Juniper and Big Sagebrush

Hummingbirds
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Variable Checkerspot

Euphydryas chalcedona

Sympistis fortis

Sympistis singularis