Burke: Penstemon cardwellii vs. Penstemon wilcoxii

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon wilcoxii
	Cardwell's beardtongue	Wilcox's beardtongue
Habit	Low shrub, the stems 1-3 dm. tall, ascending or erect.	Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for 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, strongly serrate with slender teeth, the basal leaves well-developed, elliptic to deltoid-ovate, the blade up to 9 cm. long and 5 cm. wide, about equal to the petiole; cauline leaves often larger than the basal, sessile, 4-10 cm. long and 1.5-4 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 of several large, loose verticillasters; calyx 2.5-5 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined; corolla blue, the paler throat with guide lines, 15-23 mm. long, the tube 4-8 mm. wide at the mouth, glandular-hairy on the outside, strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much longer than the upper, the raised portion bearded; pollen sacs 0.7-1.0 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite, glabrous; staminode with a recurved, bearded tip.
Fruits	Capsule	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

	Penstemon cardwellii	Penstemon wilcoxii
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Open or wooded summits or slopes at middle elevations in the mountains.	Open or often wooded, sometimes in rocky places, from the foothills to moderate 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 eastern Washington; Washington to Oregon, east to Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Threatened in Washington (WANHP)
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
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, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Penstemon wilcoxii

Cardwell's beardtongue

Wilcox's beardtongue

Habit

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

Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for 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, strongly serrate with slender teeth, the basal leaves well-developed, elliptic to deltoid-ovate, the blade up to 9 cm. long and 5 cm. wide, about equal to the petiole;

cauline leaves often larger than the basal, sessile, 4-10 cm. long and 1.5-4 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 of several large, loose verticillasters;

calyx 2.5-5 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined;

corolla blue, the paler throat with guide lines, 15-23 mm. long, the tube 4-8 mm. wide at the mouth, glandular-hairy on the outside, strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much longer than the upper, the raised portion bearded;

pollen sacs 0.7-1.0 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite, glabrous;

staminode with a recurved, bearded tip.

Fruits

Capsule

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.