Burke: Penstemon ovatus vs. Penstemon confertus

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon confertus
	egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon	lesser yellow beardtongue
Habit	Robust perennial from a woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, with stiff, spreading hairs below the inflorescence	Tufted perennial from a woody rhizome, the stems 2-5 dm. tall, mostly glabrous.
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.	Leaves opposite, entire, the lower ones petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide and forming a rosette; cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, up to 10 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.
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.	Inflorescence of 2-10 compact verticillasters, the lower remote; bracts of the inflorescence with uneven margins; calyx 3-5 mm. long, the 5 segments with broad, uneven margins and a abrupt, slender tip; corolla ochroleucous or light yellow, 8-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3.5 mm. wide at the mouth, the short limb weakly bilabiate, the staminode and raised lower petal bearded; pollen sacs purple, glabrous, 0.4-0.7 mm. long, becoming opposite.
Fruits	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.	Capsules 4-5 mm. long.

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon confertus
Flowering time	May-August	May-August
Habitat	Open woods below 3000 feet in elevation.	Coniferous forest openings and open slopes from low to middle elevations.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Alberta, Idaho and Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	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. 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. 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
Web links	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	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 confertus

egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon

lesser yellow beardtongue

Habit

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

Tufted perennial from a woody rhizome, the stems 2-5 dm. tall, mostly glabrous.

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.

Leaves opposite, entire, the lower ones petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide and forming a rosette;

cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, up to 10 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.

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.

Inflorescence of 2-10 compact verticillasters, the lower remote;

bracts of the inflorescence with uneven margins;

calyx 3-5 mm. long, the 5 segments with broad, uneven margins and a abrupt, slender tip;

corolla ochroleucous or light yellow, 8-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3.5 mm. wide at the mouth, the short limb weakly bilabiate, the staminode and raised lower petal bearded;

pollen sacs purple, glabrous, 0.4-0.7 mm. long, becoming opposite.

Fruits

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

Capsules 4-5 mm. long.