Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon richardsonii

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon richardsonii
	Cardwell's beardtongue	Richardson's penstemon
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Taprooted perennial, shrubby at the base, the several brittle, slender stems 2-8 dm. tall, puberulent, the inflorescence glandular-hairy and the leaves often 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, all cauline, the lower reduced and short-petiolate, the others sessile, sharply serrate-dentate to irregularly pinnatifid, up to 7 cm. long and 3 cm. wide.
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 a terminal panicle, leafy-bracteate below; calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments green or purplish, mostly entire, often unequal; corolla bright lavender to purplish-red, glandular-hairy outside, mostly glabrous within, 22-32 mm. long, over 1 cm. wide at the mouth, strongly bilabiate, the upper lip cleft nearly half its length; anthers 1.3-1.7 mm. long, permanently horseshoe shaped, the pollen sacs saccate and indehiscent below; staminode shortly exerted, long-bearded toward the tip, or glabrous.
Fruits	Capsule	Capsule 5-8 mm. long

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon richardsonii
Flowering time	May-July	June-August
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Cliff crevices and other dry, rocky places at low to moderate elevations.
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; southern British Columbia to north-central and northeast Oregon. [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. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. serrulatus, P. speciosus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
Subordinate taxa		P. richardsonii var. richardsonii
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, 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

Penstemon cardwellii

Penstemon richardsonii

Cardwell's beardtongue

Richardson's penstemon

Habit

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

Taprooted perennial, shrubby at the base, the several brittle, slender stems 2-8 dm. tall, puberulent, the inflorescence glandular-hairy and the leaves often 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, all cauline, the lower reduced and short-petiolate, the others sessile, sharply serrate-dentate to irregularly pinnatifid, up to 7 cm. long and 3 cm. wide.

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 a terminal panicle, leafy-bracteate below;

calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments green or purplish, mostly entire, often unequal;

corolla bright lavender to purplish-red, glandular-hairy outside, mostly glabrous within, 22-32 mm. long, over 1 cm. wide at the mouth, strongly bilabiate, the upper lip cleft nearly half its length;

anthers 1.3-1.7 mm. long, permanently horseshoe shaped, the pollen sacs saccate and indehiscent below;

staminode shortly exerted, long-bearded toward the tip, or glabrous.

Fruits

Capsule

Capsule 5-8 mm. long