Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon serrulatus

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon serrulatus
	Cardwell's beardtongue	Cascade beardtongue, coast penstemon
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Perennial from a branching, woody base, the several stems 2-7 dm. tall, glabrous or puberulent, not at all glandular.
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, glabrous, all cauline, the lower ones reduced and short-petiolate, the others sessile, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, sharply serrate, 3-8 cm. long and 1-3.5 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 often a single, compact, terminal verticillaster, sometimes of several and more open; calyx 5-9 mm. long, the 5 segments with marginal hairs; corolla deep blue to dark purple, 17-25 mm. long, glabrous inside and out; anthers permanently horseshoe-shaped, 1.1-1.6 mm. long; pollen sacs dehiscent only on their confluent apices; fertile filaments glabrous; staminode with a long, yellowish beard on the upper half, the tip flattened.
Fruits	Capsule	Capsule 5-8 mm. long.

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon serrulatus
Flowering time	May-July	June-August
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Moist to wet meadows and forest openings, from low elevations to the subalpine.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern Washington to southwestern Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest and in the Olympic Mountains in Washington; southern British Columbia to 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. richardsonii, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, 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, 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 serrulatus

Cardwell's beardtongue

Cascade beardtongue, coast penstemon

Habit

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

Perennial from a branching, woody base, the several stems 2-7 dm. tall, glabrous or puberulent, not at all glandular.

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, glabrous, all cauline, the lower ones reduced and short-petiolate, the others sessile, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, sharply serrate, 3-8 cm. long and 1-3.5 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 often a single, compact, terminal verticillaster, sometimes of several and more open;

calyx 5-9 mm. long, the 5 segments with marginal hairs;

corolla deep blue to dark purple, 17-25 mm. long, glabrous inside and out;

anthers permanently horseshoe-shaped, 1.1-1.6 mm. long;

pollen sacs dehiscent only on their confluent apices; fertile filaments glabrous;

staminode with a long, yellowish beard on the upper half, the tip flattened.

Fruits

Capsule

Capsule 5-8 mm. long.