Burke: Penstemon harbourii vs. Penstemon gairdneri

	Penstemon harbourii	Penstemon gairdneri
		gairdner's 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.
Leaves		Leaves numerous, opposite to alternate, or irregularly scattered, entire, linear, seldom over 3 mm. wide.
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.
Fruits		Capsule 6-8 mm. long.

	Penstemon harbourii	Penstemon gairdneri
Flowering time		May-June
Habitat		Dry, open sagebrush desert and scablands, low to moderate elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	East of the Cascades in Washington; Washington south to Oregon, east to Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
Conservation status		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. 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. 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
Web links	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	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 harbourii

Penstemon gairdneri

gairdner's 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.

Leaves

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

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.

Fruits

Capsule 6-8 mm. long.