Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon pruinosus

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon pruinosus
	Cardwell's beardtongue	Chelan beardtongue
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Plants tufted from a stout, branched, and woody base, the stems 1-4 dm. tall; inflorescence always glandular-hairy, the rest of the plant varying from glandular-hairy to glabrous.
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, usually sharply serrate, sometimes most of them entire; basal leaves well-developed, up to 10 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blades elliptic to ovate, equaling the petiole; cauline leaves sessile, triangular-ovate to narrowly lanceolate, smaller than the basal leaves.
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 compact verticillasters; calyx 3-6 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate; corolla deep blue or lavender, 11-16 mm. long, the tube slightly expanded, 2.5-5 mm. wide at the mouth, the throat paler and marked with guide lines, glandular-hairy externally, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded; pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite; staminode with a bearded tip.
Fruits	Capsule	Capsule 5-7 mm. long, glabrous.

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon pruinosus
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Open, rocky places from the valleys and plains to moderate elevations in the mountains, and in the scablands in Washington.
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; British Columbia to Washington. [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. 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: BC, 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

Penstemon pruinosus

Cardwell's beardtongue

Chelan beardtongue

Habit

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

Plants tufted from a stout, branched, and woody base, the stems 1-4 dm. tall; inflorescence always glandular-hairy, the rest of the plant varying from glandular-hairy to glabrous.

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, usually sharply serrate, sometimes most of them entire;

basal leaves well-developed, up to 10 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blades elliptic to ovate, equaling the petiole;

cauline leaves sessile, triangular-ovate to narrowly lanceolate, smaller than the basal leaves.

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 compact verticillasters;

calyx 3-6 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate;

corolla deep blue or lavender, 11-16 mm. long, the tube slightly expanded, 2.5-5 mm. wide at the mouth, the throat paler and marked with guide lines, glandular-hairy externally, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded;

pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite;

staminode with a bearded tip.

Fruits

Capsule

Capsule 5-7 mm. long, glabrous.