Burke: Penstemon heterophyllus vs. Penstemon ovatus

	Penstemon heterophyllus	Penstemon ovatus
		egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon
Habit		Robust perennial from a woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, with stiff, spreading hairs below the inflorescence
Leaves		Basal leaves opposite, clustered, petiolate, with ovate to sub-cordate blade up to 10 cm. long and half as wide, about equaling the petiole, serrate, hairy like the stem, especially along the mid-vein beneath; cauline leaves sessile and clasping, more sharply serrate, nearly as large, but more broadly oblong, the upper ovate.
Flowers		Inflorescence large and open, strongly glandular-hairy; calyx 3-5 mm. long, broadly lanceolate, with parallel veins; corolla blue, 15-22 mm. long, glandular-hairy on the outside, the raised portion of the lower petal pale blue and hairy; corolla strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much the longer; pollen sacs 0.8-1.1 mm. long, fully dehiscent and becoming opposite, nearly glabrous; staminode bearded toward the recurved tip.
Fruits		Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

	Penstemon heterophyllus	Penstemon ovatus
Flowering time		May-August
Habitat		Open woods below 3000 feet in elevation.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon. [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. gairdneri, P. glandulosus, P. hesperius, P. lyallii, 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
Web links	Local floras: CA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, 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: 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 heterophyllus

Penstemon ovatus

egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon

Habit

Robust perennial from a woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, with stiff, spreading hairs below the inflorescence

Leaves

Basal leaves opposite, clustered, petiolate, with ovate to sub-cordate blade up to 10 cm. long and half as wide, about equaling the petiole, serrate, hairy like the stem, especially along the mid-vein beneath;

cauline leaves sessile and clasping, more sharply serrate, nearly as large, but more broadly oblong, the upper ovate.

Flowers

Inflorescence large and open, strongly glandular-hairy;

calyx 3-5 mm. long, broadly lanceolate, with parallel veins;

corolla blue, 15-22 mm. long, glandular-hairy on the outside, the raised portion of the lower petal pale blue and hairy;

corolla strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much the longer;

pollen sacs 0.8-1.1 mm. long, fully dehiscent and becoming opposite, nearly glabrous;

staminode bearded toward the recurved tip.

Fruits

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.