Burke: Penstemon acuminatus vs. Penstemon speciosus

	Penstemon acuminatus	Penstemon speciosus
	sand dune penstemon, sharp-leaved penstemon	royal beardtongue, showy penstemon
Habit	Herbaceous, glabrous perennial from a short, branched woody base, with several stout stems 1.5-6 dm. tall, the herbage glaucous.	Perennial from a compact, branched, woody base, the several stout stems 2-9 dm. tall, glabrous or gray-puberulent.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, thick and firm, the basal leaves tufted, oblanceolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide; cauline leaves sessile and clasping, progressively shorter and broader upward.	Leaves opposite, entire, thick and firm, the basal ones clustered, petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blade oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic; cauline leaves sessile and sometimes clasping, up to 2 cm. wide, 3.5-10 times as long as wide.
Flowers	Inflorescence of rather dense verticillasters, the bracts subtending the lower verticillasters broad and leafy, the upper ones reduced; calyx deeply 5-parted, the segments lanceolate, entire; corolla bright blue, tubular, 14-21 mm. long, the tube expanded toward the end; pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite, 0.8-1.2 mm. long; staminode (sterile stamen) usually yellow-bearded for about 1 mm. toward the tip.	Inflorescence of numerous, loose verticillasters, sometimes one-sided; calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments ovate, scarious margined, pointed; corolla bright blue, 26-38 mm. long, 1 cm. wide at the mouth; pollen sacs 1.9-3.0 mm. long, spreading, S-shaped, mostly glabrous, a short portion remaining indehiscent; staminode usually glabrous.
Fruits	Capsule 7-12 mm. long, excluding the slender beak, which is up to 5 mm. long.	Capsule 9-12 mm. long.

	Penstemon acuminatus	Penstemon speciosus
Flowering time	April-June	May-July
Habitat	Dry, open, sandy places at low elevations.	Dry, open or sparsely wooded areas, often with sagebrush, juniper or ponderosa pine, mostly in the lowlands and foothills.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest from Chelan and Douglas counties south along the Columbia River to Klickitat County; central Washington to north-central Oregon, also from southeastern Oregon to northern Nevada, east to southwestern Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	East of the Cascades in Washington; Washington south to California, east to Nevada and Utah. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. attenuatus, P. barrettiae, P. cardwellii, P. cinereus, P. confertus, P. davidsonii, P. deustus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. glandulosus, P. hesperius, P. lyallii, P. ovatus, P. palmeri, P. pennellianus, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. richardsonii, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. serrulatus, P. speciosus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii	P. acuminatus, P. attenuatus, P. barrettiae, P. cardwellii, P. cinereus, P. confertus, P. davidsonii, P. deustus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. glandulosus, P. hesperius, P. lyallii, P. ovatus, P. palmeri, P. pennellianus, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. richardsonii, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. serrulatus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
Subordinate taxa	P. acuminatus var. acuminatus
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Penstemon speciosus

sand dune penstemon, sharp-leaved penstemon

royal beardtongue, showy penstemon

Habit

Herbaceous, glabrous perennial from a short, branched woody base, with several stout stems 1.5-6 dm. tall, the herbage glaucous.

Perennial from a compact, branched, woody base, the several stout stems 2-9 dm. tall, glabrous or gray-puberulent.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, thick and firm, the basal leaves tufted, oblanceolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide;

cauline leaves sessile and clasping, progressively shorter and broader upward.

Leaves opposite, entire, thick and firm, the basal ones clustered, petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blade oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic;

cauline leaves sessile and sometimes clasping, up to 2 cm. wide, 3.5-10 times as long as wide.

Flowers

Inflorescence of rather dense verticillasters, the bracts subtending the lower verticillasters broad and leafy, the upper ones reduced;

calyx deeply 5-parted, the segments lanceolate, entire;

corolla bright blue, tubular, 14-21 mm. long, the tube expanded toward the end;

pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite, 0.8-1.2 mm. long;

staminode (sterile stamen) usually yellow-bearded for about 1 mm. toward the tip.

Inflorescence of numerous, loose verticillasters, sometimes one-sided;

calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments ovate, scarious margined, pointed;

corolla bright blue, 26-38 mm. long, 1 cm. wide at the mouth;

pollen sacs 1.9-3.0 mm. long, spreading, S-shaped, mostly glabrous, a short portion remaining indehiscent;

staminode usually glabrous.

Fruits

Capsule 7-12 mm. long, excluding the slender beak, which is up to 5 mm. long.

Capsule 9-12 mm. long.

Penstemon speciosus

Flowering time

April-June

May-July

Habitat

Dry, open, sandy places at low elevations.

Dry, open or sparsely wooded areas, often with sagebrush, juniper or ponderosa pine, mostly in the lowlands and foothills.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest from Chelan and Douglas counties south along the Columbia River to Klickitat County; central Washington to north-central Oregon, also from southeastern Oregon to northern Nevada, east to southwestern Idaho.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]