Burke: Penstemon deustus vs. Penstemon confertus

	Penstemon deustus	Penstemon confertus
	hot-rock penstemon	lesser yellow beardtongue
Habit	Plants with a much-branched, woody base, the flowering stems simple and erect, 2-6 dm. tall; plants usually glandular in the inflorescence, otherwise glabrous.	Tufted perennial from a woody rhizome, the stems 2-5 dm. tall, mostly glabrous.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, ternate, whorled or scattered, sharply toothed to entire; leaves on the short, sterile shoots oblanceolate to elliptic and short-petiolate, those on the flowering stems usually sessile and broad-based, up to 6 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.	Leaves opposite, entire, the lower ones petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide and forming a rosette; cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, up to 10 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.
Flowers	Inflorescence of several verticillasters, often rather loose; calyx 2.5-6 mm. long, the 5 segments lanceolate; corolla dull whitish with some purplish lines within, sometimes washed with lavender, 8-20 mm. long, the tube narrow; staminode glabrous or hairy, not expanded toward the tip; pollen sacs 0.5-0.9 mm. long, glabrous, dehiscent throughout, widely spreading.	Inflorescence of 2-10 compact verticillasters, the lower remote; bracts of the inflorescence with uneven margins; calyx 3-5 mm. long, the 5 segments with broad, uneven margins and a abrupt, slender tip; corolla ochroleucous or light yellow, 8-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3.5 mm. wide at the mouth, the short limb weakly bilabiate, the staminode and raised lower petal bearded; pollen sacs purple, glabrous, 0.4-0.7 mm. long, becoming opposite.
Fruits	Capsule 3-5 mm. long.	Capsules 4-5 mm. long.

	Penstemon deustus	Penstemon confertus
Flowering time	May-July	May-August
Habitat	Open rocky roadsides, hillsides, and rock outcrops, sometimes in dry meadows, lowland to middle elevations in the mountains.	Coniferous forest openings and open slopes from low to middle elevations.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Montana and Utah. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Alberta, Idaho and Montana. [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. cardwellii, P. cinereus, P. confertus, P. davidsonii, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa	P. deustus var. deustus, P. deustus var. variabilis
Web links	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	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 deustus

Penstemon confertus

hot-rock penstemon

lesser yellow beardtongue

Habit

Plants with a much-branched, woody base, the flowering stems simple and erect, 2-6 dm. tall; plants usually glandular in the inflorescence, otherwise glabrous.

Tufted perennial from a woody rhizome, the stems 2-5 dm. tall, mostly glabrous.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, ternate, whorled or scattered, sharply toothed to entire;

leaves on the short, sterile shoots oblanceolate to elliptic and short-petiolate, those on the flowering stems usually sessile and broad-based, up to 6 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.

Leaves opposite, entire, the lower ones petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide and forming a rosette;

cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, up to 10 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.

Flowers

Inflorescence of several verticillasters, often rather loose;

calyx 2.5-6 mm. long, the 5 segments lanceolate;

corolla dull whitish with some purplish lines within, sometimes washed with lavender, 8-20 mm. long, the tube narrow;

staminode glabrous or hairy, not expanded toward the tip;

pollen sacs 0.5-0.9 mm. long, glabrous, dehiscent throughout, widely spreading.

Inflorescence of 2-10 compact verticillasters, the lower remote;

bracts of the inflorescence with uneven margins;

calyx 3-5 mm. long, the 5 segments with broad, uneven margins and a abrupt, slender tip;

corolla ochroleucous or light yellow, 8-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3.5 mm. wide at the mouth, the short limb weakly bilabiate, the staminode and raised lower petal bearded;

pollen sacs purple, glabrous, 0.4-0.7 mm. long, becoming opposite.

Fruits

Capsule 3-5 mm. long.

Capsules 4-5 mm. long.