{"id":"penstemon","license":"CC-BY-4.0","data":{"scientificName":"Penstemon","commonNames":["Beardtongue","Penstemon"],"taxonRank":"genus","acceptedName":"Penstemon","family":"Plantaginaceae","ids":{"usdaSymbol":"PENST","gbifKey":3171306,"itisTsn":33665,"wikidataQid":"Q809265","inatTaxonId":48367},"usdaZoneMin":"3a","usdaZoneMax":"8b","zoneSource":"pnw590","states":["ID","OR","WA"],"hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"8","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"perennials:Penstemon or beardtongue","sourceTaxon":"Penstemon spp.","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Penstemon or beardtongue profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"}],"plantForm":"perennial","photo":{"file":"/images/plants/penstemon.jpg","sourceUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/588255468","observationUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/324950334","license":"cc0","attribution":"no rights reserved","fetchedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},"evidence":[{"source":"pnw-590","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed fire-resistant","edition":"2023","url":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/pnw-590-fire-resistant-plants-home-landscapes","documentDate":"2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firesmart-bc","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"FireSmart-approved fire-resistant plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"suitable for HIZ extended zone (30-100 m)","scheme":"firesmart-hiz"},"original":"pnw-590","url":"https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/fire-resistant-plants/","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"lsu-hammond","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"recommended for firewise landscaping in Louisiana","edition":"c. 2005-2010","url":"https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/research_stations/hammond/features/research-updates/firewise-landscaping","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firesafe-marin","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed as fire-resistant","claims":"Fire Safe Marin lists this taxon among fire-resistant plants common to Marin County.","condition":"irrigated","edition":"2019","url":"https://firesafemarin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIRESafe-MARIN_plant-list_2019.pdf","accessedOn":"2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"unr-compilation-good-plant-choices","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed by at least two cited sources","claims":"Compilation marks: CSU 6.305, UI Bulletin 67, MT200101AG, OSU FRN 6, USU NR/FF/002.","edition":"SP-05-16 (2005)","url":"https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=4762","documentDate":"2005-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"usu-firewise-plants-utah","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed as a firewise plant for Utah landscapes","claims":"Source says the plant can be firewise when properly used and maintained. Source table name: Penstemon species & hybrids.","edition":"2005 revision","url":"https://extension.usu.edu/smallfarms/files/FirewisePlantsUtLandscapes.pdf","documentDate":"2005-02-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"king-county-puget-sound-2011","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Fire-resistant Landscape Plants","claims":"Listed in the source's Perennials table as Penstemon spp. (Beard tongue).","edition":"2011","url":"https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire/FirewisePlantsPugetSoundBasin-2011.pdf","documentDate":"2011-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"msu-e2948","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"considered wildfire-resistant and are recommended for Michigan’s climate","claims":"Table 1 row: Penstemon spp. (Beard tongue).","edition":"New, January 2007","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","documentDate":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"fitzgerald-waldo-2002-osu-frn6","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Fire-Resistant Plant Materials for Oregon","claims":"Penstemon species (Penstemon) is listed under “Perennials 18 inches or taller”. The guide says most listed plants require some irrigation during Oregon's dry summer months and must be maintained in a healthy condition.","plantPart":"whole-plant","condition":"green","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Oregon","scheme":"osu-frn6-oregon-regions"},"edition":"Forest Resource Note No. 6","url":"https://www.iatp.org/sites/default/files/Fire_Resistant_Plants_for_Oregon_Home_Landscap.pdf","documentDate":"2002-04-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-em-9103","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"fire-resistant plants that thrive in Willamette Valley growing conditions","claims":"The perennials profile lists Penstemon spp. as Penstemon or Beardtongue. The profile prints USDA Hardiness Zone: Varies by species.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Penstemon or Beardtongue profile (PDF page 76)","scheme":"osu-em-9103-profile"},"edition":"EM 9103, February 2015","url":"https://www.canbyfire.org/files/074d2a9e3/Fire-Resistant-Plants_Willamette-Valley.pdf","documentDate":"2015-02-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-plant-profile-galleries","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Choose the right perennial plants for your fire-resistant landscape","claims":"The Penstemon or beardtongue profile prints Penstemon species. The gallery points to PNW 590 for complete details.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Penstemon or beardtongue — Penstemon spp.","scheme":"osu-2023-perennials-gallery"},"edition":"November 2023 educational gallery","url":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gallery/fire-resistant-plant-profiles-perennials","documentDate":"2023-11-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"csu-6305","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"ignitability score 8 of 10","score":{"value":8,"scale":"idaho-0-10"},"claims":"CSU 6.305 table lists Penstemon spp. (penstemon species, cultivars) with the preserved ignitability score.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"suitable for defensible-space zones 1-2 (score 8+)","scheme":"csu-hiz"},"edition":"2025","url":"https://csfs.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CSFS_CSU-Ext_Fact-Sheets_IRLP_2025_081825-2_web_accessible.pdf","documentDate":"2025-07-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"yavapai-34","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Fire-Resistant Plants","claims":"Listed as Penstemon, Beard tongue — Penstemon sp.. The bulletin says fire-resistant plants tend to resist ignition when irrigated and maintained, while fire-prone plants may ignite readily and burn intensely.","plantPart":"whole-plant","edition":"v1.2","url":"https://www.extension.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2025-03/FirewisePlants3-14-2025.pdf","documentDate":"2025-03-14T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"}],"flammabilityClass":"fire-resistant","ratingReason":"consensus","recommendation":"on-list","author":"grayson-graham","reviewStatus":"draft","lastVerified":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z","reviewNotes":"Photo auto-selected (top-voted iNat); human review pending."},"localAssessmentInputs":{"stateDistribution":["ID","OR","WA"],"nativeStates":[],"rangeAssertions":[{"relation":"documented-occurrence","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["ID","OR","WA"]},"provenance":"legacy-field"}],"usdaZoneMin":"3a","usdaZoneMax":"8b","hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"8","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"perennials:Penstemon or beardtongue","sourceTaxon":"Penstemon spp.","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Penstemon or beardtongue profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}],"hardinessSelection":{"status":"selected","assertion":{"minimum":"3","maximum":"8","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"perennials:Penstemon or beardtongue","sourceTaxon":"Penstemon spp.","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Penstemon or beardtongue profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},"assertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"8","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"perennials:Penstemon or beardtongue","sourceTaxon":"Penstemon spp.","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Penstemon or beardtongue profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}]},"invasiveIn":[],"statusAssertions":[],"fireEvidenceClass":"fire-resistant","recommendation":"on-list","fireSourceScopes":[{"source":"csu-6305","sourceName":"Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants (Fact Sheet 6.305)","sourceUrl":"https://csfs.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CSFS_CSU-Ext_Fact-Sheets_IRLP_2025_081825-2_web_accessible.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["CO"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Colorado State University Extension and the Colorado State Forest Service publish Fact Sheet 6.305 for Colorado's WUI and varied ecosystems. FireApproved exposes all 114 exact source owners at Colorado publication scope while retaining score, elevation, water, and Idaho-carrier lineage. Publication scope is not suitability for every Colorado site or zone.","sourceVersion":"CSFS-CSU-Fact-Sheet-6.305-2025-07","asOf":"2025-07-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firesafe-marin","sourceName":"Fire-Resistant Plants Common to Marin County","sourceUrl":"https://firesafemarin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIRESafe-MARIN_plant-list_2019.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["CA"],"regions":["Marin County"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The publication is explicitly limited to plants common to Marin County. FireApproved publishes 104 exact owners as Marin regional context while retaining its placement, spacing, irrigation, and maintenance boundary. It is not statewide California guidance or parcel suitability.","sourceVersion":"Fire-Safe-Marin-plant-list-2019","asOf":"2019-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"king-county-puget-sound-2011","sourceName":"Firewise Plants for the Puget Sound Basin","sourceUrl":"https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire/FirewisePlantsPugetSoundBasin-2011.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["WA"],"regions":["Puget Sound Basin"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"King County's current wildfire page links this list for the Puget Sound Basin. FireApproved publishes 82 exact source owners as basin context, not statewide Washington guidance or a site-specific recommendation.","sourceVersion":"King-County-Puget-Sound-Basin-2011","asOf":"2011-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"lsu-hammond","sourceName":"Firewise Landscaping (Hammond Research Station)","sourceUrl":"https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/research_stations/hammond/features/research-updates/firewise-landscaping","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["LA"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"LSU AgCenter calls these 31 ornamentals commonly used in Louisiana and recommended for Louisiana firewise landscaping efforts. FireApproved publishes 31 exact source owners, mostly at the source's genus grain. Undocumented curation remains corroborative and is not site suitability.","sourceVersion":"LSU-Hammond-Firewise-Landscaping-2008-12-02","asOf":"2008-12-02T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"msu-e2948","sourceName":"Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948)","sourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["MI"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2948 is explicitly a list of wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan and includes a Michigan-native field. FireApproved publishes 221 exact GBIF owners from 226 represented source rows and holds 15 complex or non-exact rows. This dated publication scope is not a current site-suitability determination.","sourceVersion":"MSU-Extension-E2948-2007","asOf":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-em-9103","sourceName":"Fire-resistant Landscape Plants for the Willamette Valley (EM 9103)","sourceUrl":"https://www.canbyfire.org/files/074d2a9e3/Fire-Resistant-Plants_Willamette-Valley.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["OR"],"regions":["Willamette Valley"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"OSU Extension says EM 9103 highlights fire-resistant plants that thrive under Willamette Valley growing conditions. FireApproved publishes 172 exact owners only as valley context. The guide shares the PNW 590 lineage and is not a second independent vote or statewide site clearance.","sourceVersion":"OSU-EM-9103-2015-02","asOf":"2015-02-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"pnw-590","sourceName":"Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes (PNW 590)","sourceUrl":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/pnw-590-fire-resistant-plants-home-landscapes","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["ID","OR","WA"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The October 2023 joint Pacific Northwest Extension publication explicitly names Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and publishes more than 150 plant profiles. FireApproved has normalized 155 exact plant records from the source; publication scope does not assert that every listed plant suits every site within the three states.","sourceVersion":"PNW-590-October-2023","asOf":"2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"unr-compilation-good-plant-choices","sourceName":"A Compilation of Good Plant Choices for Nevada's High Fire Hazard Areas (SP-05-16)","sourceUrl":"https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=4762","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["NV"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"University of Nevada Cooperative Extension compiled plants suited to Nevada climate zones and reported favorably by at least two upstream firewise lists. FireApproved publishes 126 exact source owners at Nevada publication scope. The source explicitly makes no independent flammability determination, so these rows remain corroborative.","sourceVersion":"UNR-Extension-SP-05-16-2005","asOf":"2005-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"usu-firewise-plants-utah","sourceName":"Firewise Plants for Utah Landscapes (NR/FF/002)","sourceUrl":"https://extension.usu.edu/smallfarms/files/FirewisePlantsUtLandscapes.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["UT"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Utah State University Extension states that this fact sheet selects examples for Utah landscapes and that they require proper placement and maintenance. FireApproved publishes 83 exact source owners at Utah publication scope. The table is not a site-specific planting clearance.","sourceVersion":"USU-NR-FF-002-2005-02","asOf":"2005-02-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"yavapai-34","sourceName":"Fire-Resistant and Fire-Prone Plants Common to Yavapai County (Bulletin 34)","sourceUrl":"https://www.extension.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2025-03/FirewisePlants3-14-2025.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["AZ"],"regions":["Yavapai County"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"University of Arizona Cooperative Extension authors Bulletin 34 for Yavapai County. FireApproved publishes 198 exact source owners from its resistant and prone tables and keeps the county boundary visible. County publication scope is regional Arizona context, never statewide scope.","sourceVersion":"UA-Yavapai-Bulletin-34-v1.2-2025-03-14","asOf":"2025-03-14T00:00:00.000Z"}],"firePerformanceConditions":[{"condition":"green","evidence":[{"source":"fitzgerald-waldo-2002-osu-frn6","verdict":"recommend","url":"https://www.iatp.org/sites/default/files/Fire_Resistant_Plants_for_Oregon_Home_Landscap.pdf","claims":"Penstemon species (Penstemon) is listed under “Perennials 18 inches or taller”. The guide says most listed plants require some irrigation during Oregon's dry summer months and must be maintained in a healthy condition.","evidenceIndex":8}]},{"condition":"irrigated","evidence":[{"source":"firesafe-marin","verdict":"recommend","url":"https://firesafemarin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIRESafe-MARIN_plant-list_2019.pdf","claims":"Fire Safe Marin lists this taxon among fire-resistant plants common to Marin County.","evidenceIndex":3}]}],"maintenanceAssertions":[],"maintenanceConditions":null,"regulatoryReviews":{},"seedReviews":{}},"legacyCompatibilityProjection":{"nativeStates":[],"invasiveIn":[],"usdaZoneMin":"3","usdaZoneMax":"8"},"localAssessmentContract":"Compare each dimension separately. State noxious-weed seed designations are material-scoped and never become non-seed plant restrictions, ecological-invasive findings, nursery restrictions, alternatives, product evidence, or fire votes. Introduced/established context is not an invasive warning. Minimum-only hardiness has no inferred maximum; canonical source-temperature conversion is validated and contradictory applicable rows project no primary zone. L48 context applies only to conterminous states and is never exact-state status. Fire-performance conditions are not maintenance advice. FEIS fire-ecology context does not vote in the plant classification. Absence of a status row is not regulatory clearance."}