Burke: Penstemon lentus vs. Penstemon venustus

	Penstemon lentus	Penstemon venustus
		elegant beardtongue, Blue Mountain penstemon
Habit		Perennial from a stout taproot, shrubby at the base, the numerous stems 3-8 dm. long, forming a rounded clump, glabrous throughout.
Leaves		Leaves opposite, all cauline, the lowermost reduced, the others numerous, sessile, lanceolate to broadly oblong, 4-10 cm. long and 1-3 cm. wide, sharply serrate or occasionally sub-entire.
Flowers		Inflorescence a narrow, terminal panicle, or nearly a raceme; calyx 2.5-6.5 mm. long, the 5 segments scarious margined and toothed, usually glabrous; corolla bright lavender to purple-violet, 25-38 mm. long, over 1 cm. wide at the mouth, glabrous inside and out except for the marginal hairs on the lobes; the 4 fertile filaments pubescent toward the tip, the lower pair exerted; anthers permanently horseshoe-shaped, 1.6-2.0 mm. long; pollen sacs remaining saccate and indehiscent on the lower half, glabrous except for the hairs along the sutures; staminode shortly exerted, with a long, white beard along the flattened tip.
Fruits		Capsule 6-9 mm. long.

	Penstemon lentus	Penstemon venustus
Flowering time		May-August
Habitat		Open, rocky slopes, from the foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where introduced in central Washington and native to the Blue Mountains region in southeastern Washington; Washington to California, east to Idaho and Utah. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native and Introduced
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. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. serrulatus, P. speciosus, P. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
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: 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 venustus

elegant beardtongue, Blue Mountain penstemon

Habit

Perennial from a stout taproot, shrubby at the base, the numerous stems 3-8 dm. long, forming a rounded clump, glabrous throughout.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, all cauline, the lowermost reduced, the others numerous, sessile, lanceolate to broadly oblong, 4-10 cm. long and 1-3 cm. wide, sharply serrate or occasionally sub-entire.

Flowers

Inflorescence a narrow, terminal panicle, or nearly a raceme;

calyx 2.5-6.5 mm. long, the 5 segments scarious margined and toothed, usually glabrous;

corolla bright lavender to purple-violet, 25-38 mm. long, over 1 cm. wide at the mouth, glabrous inside and out except for the marginal hairs on the lobes; the 4 fertile filaments pubescent toward the tip, the lower pair exerted;

anthers permanently horseshoe-shaped, 1.6-2.0 mm. long;

pollen sacs remaining saccate and indehiscent on the lower half, glabrous except for the hairs along the sutures;

staminode shortly exerted, with a long, white beard along the flattened tip.

Fruits

Capsule 6-9 mm. long.

Penstemon lentus

Penstemon venustus

Flowering time

May-August

Habitat

Open, rocky slopes, from the foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains.

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where introduced in central Washington and native to the Blue Mountains region in southeastern Washington; Washington to California, east to Idaho and Utah.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native and Introduced

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa