Burke: Penstemon lentus vs. Penstemon procerus

	Penstemon lentus	Penstemon procerus
		small-flowered penstemon
Habit		Plants tufted from a woody rhizome, the slender stems 0.5-4 dm. tall, glabrous throughout.
Leaves		Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones petiolate, oblanceolate to elliptic, up to 10 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, often poorly developed; cauline leaves few, mostly sessile, often much smaller that the basal leaves.
Flowers		Inflorescence of 1-several, very dense verticillasters, the flowers curved downward; calyx 1.5-6 mm. long, the 5 segments truncate to acute, the margins scarious; corolla deep blue-purple, 6-11 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3 mm. wide at the mouth, not strongly bilabiate, the raised part of the lower lip bearded; staminode usually bearded, sometimes glabrous; pollen sacs glabrous, sub-rotund, wholly dehiscent and opening wide enough to form a plane.
Fruits		Capsules 5-8 mm. long and seeds approximately 1 mm. in length.

	Penstemon lentus	Penstemon procerus
Flowering time		June-August
Habitat		Moist forest openings at moderate elevations to rocky slopes at high elevations.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Widely distributed throughout Washington; Alaska south to California, east to North Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado. [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. pruinosus, P. richardsonii, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. serrulatus, P. speciosus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
Subordinate taxa		P. procerus var. procerus, P. procerus var. tolmiei
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: BC, 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 lentus

Penstemon procerus

small-flowered penstemon

Habit

Plants tufted from a woody rhizome, the slender stems 0.5-4 dm. tall, glabrous throughout.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones petiolate, oblanceolate to elliptic, up to 10 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, often poorly developed;

cauline leaves few, mostly sessile, often much smaller that the basal leaves.

Flowers

Inflorescence of 1-several, very dense verticillasters, the flowers curved downward;

calyx 1.5-6 mm. long, the 5 segments truncate to acute, the margins scarious;

corolla deep blue-purple, 6-11 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3 mm. wide at the mouth, not strongly bilabiate, the raised part of the lower lip bearded;

staminode usually bearded, sometimes glabrous;

pollen sacs glabrous, sub-rotund, wholly dehiscent and opening wide enough to form a plane.

Fruits

Capsules 5-8 mm. long and seeds approximately 1 mm. in length.