Burke: Penstemon gairdneri vs. Penstemon attenuatus

	Penstemon gairdneri	Penstemon attenuatus
	gairdner's penstemon	taper-leaved beardtongue, sulphur penstemon, taper-leaved penstemon
Habit	Plants from a branched, woody base, the several, erect stems 1-4 dm. tall, also with short, densely-leafy sterile stems which tend to form loose mats; herbage finely gray-puberulent, with a few stalked glands in the inflorescence.	Tufted, perennial herbs from a crown, the stem 1-9 dm. tall, glabrous or finely pubescent below the inflorescence.
Leaves	Leaves numerous, opposite to alternate, or irregularly scattered, entire, linear, seldom over 3 mm. wide.	Leaves opposite, deep green, entire, the basal ones well developed, petiolate, up to 17 cm. long and 4 cm. wide, the cauline mostly sessile, reduced upward.
Flowers	Inflorescence of several few-flowered verticillasters; calyx 3.5-8 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, entire; corolla blue-purple or lavender, or occasionally bright rose-purple, 14-22 mm. long, somewhat glandular-hairy externally and internally near the mouth, the tube flared, the limb spreading; pollen sacs glabrous, ovate, 0.8-1.2 mm. long, becoming opposite; staminode bearded toward the tip.	Inflorescence of 2-several dense verticillasters; calyx 4-7 mm. long, the 5 segments lanceolate to ovate or obovate, the margins scarious; corolla 2-lipped, glandular-hairy externally, blue or purple to pale yellow or nearly white, 12-20 mm. long, the tube expanded toward the mouth; staminode and raised portion of lower petal bearded; pollen sacs glabrous, becoming opposite.
Fruits	Capsule 6-8 mm. long.	Capsules 6-8 mm. long.

	Penstemon gairdneri	Penstemon attenuatus
Flowering time	May-June	June-August
Habitat	Dry, open sagebrush desert and scablands, low to moderate elevations in the mountains.	Dry to moist meadows and woodland slopes from the lowlands to the subalpine.
Distribution	East of the Cascades in Washington; Washington south to Oregon, east to Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southeastern British Columbia to northeastern Oregon, east to western Montana and Wyoming. [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. deustus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fruticosus, 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. 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, P. wilcoxii
Subordinate taxa	P. gairdneri var. gairdneri	P. attenuatus var. attenuatus
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, 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 attenuatus

gairdner's penstemon

taper-leaved beardtongue, sulphur penstemon, taper-leaved penstemon

Habit

Plants from a branched, woody base, the several, erect stems 1-4 dm. tall, also with short, densely-leafy sterile stems which tend to form loose mats; herbage finely gray-puberulent, with a few stalked glands in the inflorescence.

Tufted, perennial herbs from a crown, the stem 1-9 dm. tall, glabrous or finely pubescent below the inflorescence.

Leaves

Leaves numerous, opposite to alternate, or irregularly scattered, entire, linear, seldom over 3 mm. wide.

Leaves opposite, deep green, entire, the basal ones well developed, petiolate, up to 17 cm. long and 4 cm. wide, the cauline mostly sessile, reduced upward.

Flowers

Inflorescence of several few-flowered verticillasters;

calyx 3.5-8 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, entire;

corolla blue-purple or lavender, or occasionally bright rose-purple, 14-22 mm. long, somewhat glandular-hairy externally and internally near the mouth, the tube flared, the limb spreading;

pollen sacs glabrous, ovate, 0.8-1.2 mm. long, becoming opposite;

staminode bearded toward the tip.

Inflorescence of 2-several dense verticillasters;

calyx 4-7 mm. long, the 5 segments lanceolate to ovate or obovate, the margins scarious;

corolla 2-lipped, glandular-hairy externally, blue or purple to pale yellow or nearly white, 12-20 mm. long, the tube expanded toward the mouth;

staminode and raised portion of lower petal bearded;

pollen sacs glabrous, becoming opposite.

Fruits

Capsule 6-8 mm. long.

Capsules 6-8 mm. long.