Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon humilis

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon humilis
	Cardwell's beardtongue
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Plants from a branching, woody base, the stems 1-6 dm. tall, usually finely gray-puberulent throughout, with stalked glands in the inflorescence.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, glabrous, the largest on short, sterile shoots, serrulate or nearly entire, short-petiolate, the blades elliptic, 1.5-3.5 cm. long and 6-14 mm. wide; leaves of the flowering shoots less crowded, smaller, sessile and entire.	Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones tufted and persistent, petiolate, up to 12 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, with elliptic or ovate blades, the cauline ones sessile and reduced.
Flowers	Inflorescence racemose, few-flowered and crowded, glandular, the simple pedicels opposite and axillary; calyx 5-12 mm. long, the 5 segments thin and lanceolate; corolla bright purple to deep blue-violet, 30-38 mm. long, about 1 cm. wide at the mouth, keeled on the back, glabrous outside and with long, white hairs near the base of the lower lip within; anthers long-wooly, pollen sacs opposite; staminode slender, shorter than the 4 fertile filaments, long-bearded toward the tip	Inflorescence of several loose, few-flowered verticillasters; calyx 2.5-6 mm. long, broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined, pointed; corolla blue-purple, glandular-hairy, 10-17 mm. long, the tube 3-6 mm. wide at the mouth, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded; pollen sacs 0.4-0.8 mm. long, glabrous, becoming opposite; staminode densely bearded toward the tip.
Fruits	Capsule	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon humilis
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Dry, open, often rocky places, frequently with sagebrush, from the plains and foothills to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern Washington to southwestern Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. acuminatus, P. attenuatus, P. barrettiae, 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. speciosus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
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: OR 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

Penstemon cardwellii

Penstemon humilis

Cardwell's beardtongue

Habit

Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.

Plants from a branching, woody base, the stems 1-6 dm. tall, usually finely gray-puberulent throughout, with stalked glands in the inflorescence.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, glabrous, the largest on short, sterile shoots, serrulate or nearly entire, short-petiolate, the blades elliptic, 1.5-3.5 cm. long and 6-14 mm. wide;

leaves of the flowering shoots less crowded, smaller, sessile and entire.

Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones tufted and persistent, petiolate, up to 12 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, with elliptic or ovate blades, the cauline ones sessile and reduced.

Flowers

Inflorescence racemose, few-flowered and crowded, glandular, the simple pedicels opposite and axillary;

calyx 5-12 mm. long, the 5 segments thin and lanceolate;

corolla bright purple to deep blue-violet, 30-38 mm. long, about 1 cm. wide at the mouth, keeled on the back, glabrous outside and with long, white hairs near the base of the lower lip within;

anthers long-wooly, pollen sacs opposite;

staminode slender, shorter than the 4 fertile filaments, long-bearded toward the tip

Inflorescence of several loose, few-flowered verticillasters;

calyx 2.5-6 mm. long, broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined, pointed;

corolla blue-purple, glandular-hairy, 10-17 mm. long, the tube 3-6 mm. wide at the mouth, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded;

pollen sacs 0.4-0.8 mm. long, glabrous, becoming opposite;

staminode densely bearded toward the tip.

Fruits

Capsule

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.