Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Penstemon thurberi is a species of penstemon known by the common name Thurber's beardtongue. 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 flower cluster bears funnel-shaped lavender, pink, or pale blue-purple flowers up to 1.5 centimeters in length.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

8 - 31 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Pink, Purple, Lavender, Blue

Flowering season

Spring, Summer

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Full Sun

Soil drainage

Fast

Site type

Sandy and gravelly slopes and mesas, in, or s

Plant communities

Chaparral, Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

Hummingbirds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 9 likely

Confirmed Likely

Archirhoe neomexicana

Verbena Bud Moth

Endothenia hebesana

Anicia Checkerspot

Euphydryas anicia

Variable Checkerspot

Euphydryas chalcedona