Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon speciosus

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon speciosus
	Cardwell's beardtongue	royal beardtongue, showy penstemon
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Perennial from a compact, branched, woody base, the several stout stems 2-9 dm. tall, glabrous or gray-puberulent.
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, 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 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 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	Capsule 9-12 mm. long.

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon speciosus
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Dry, open or sparsely wooded areas, often with sagebrush, juniper or ponderosa pine, mostly in the lowlands and foothills.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern Washington to southwestern Oregon. [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. 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. 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: 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 cardwellii

Penstemon speciosus

Cardwell's beardtongue

royal beardtongue, showy penstemon

Habit

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

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

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, 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 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 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

Capsule 9-12 mm. long.