Burke: Penstemon heterophyllus vs. Penstemon rupicola

	Penstemon heterophyllus	Penstemon rupicola
		cliff beardtongue, rock penstemon
Habit		Basally shrubby, mat-forming perennial, the spreading-hairy, erect or ascending stems up to 1 dm. tall.
Leaves		Mat leaves thick and firm, glaucous, glabrous or with short, spreading hairs, irregularly serrulate, the broadly elliptic or obovate blade 8-18 mm. long; leaves of the flowering shoots opposite, few, less than 1 cm. long.
Flowers		Inflorescence a compact, few-flowered raceme, glandular-hairy; calyx 6-11 mm. long, the 5 segments narrowly lance-elliptic to ovate-oblong; corolla bright pink to rose-purple, 25-35 mm. long, keeled on the back, usually glabrous inside and out; anthers long-woolly; pollen sacs wholly dehiscent and opening wide enough to form a plane; staminode slender, shorter that the fertile filaments, nearly glabrous.
Fruits		Capsule

	Penstemon heterophyllus	Penstemon rupicola
Flowering time		May-August
Habitat		Rock cliffs and rocky slopes from middle elevations in the mountains to the alpine.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; Washington to California. [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. ovatus, P. palmeri, P. pennellianus, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. richardsonii, 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: 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

Penstemon heterophyllus

Penstemon rupicola

cliff beardtongue, rock penstemon

Habit

Basally shrubby, mat-forming perennial, the spreading-hairy, erect or ascending stems up to 1 dm. tall.

Leaves

Mat leaves thick and firm, glaucous, glabrous or with short, spreading hairs, irregularly serrulate, the broadly elliptic or obovate blade 8-18 mm. long;

leaves of the flowering shoots opposite, few, less than 1 cm. long.

Flowers

Inflorescence a compact, few-flowered raceme, glandular-hairy;

calyx 6-11 mm. long, the 5 segments narrowly lance-elliptic to ovate-oblong;

corolla bright pink to rose-purple, 25-35 mm. long, keeled on the back, usually glabrous inside and out;

anthers long-woolly;

pollen sacs wholly dehiscent and opening wide enough to form a plane;

staminode slender, shorter that the fertile filaments, nearly glabrous.

Fruits

Capsule