Burke: Penstemon ovatus vs. Penstemon washingtonensis

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon washingtonensis
	egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon	Washington beardtongue
Habit	Robust perennial from a woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, with stiff, spreading hairs below the inflorescence	Tufted perennials from a loose, woody rhizome, the stems 1-2.5 dm. tall, usually glabrous below the glandular-hairy 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.	Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones well-developed and forming rosettes, 2.5-6 cm. long and 5-18 mm. wide; cauline leaves few, sessile, often reduced.
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 1-3 dense verticillasters; calyx 4-6 mm. long, the 5 segments tapered, with scarious margins; corolla deep blue or occasionally pale yellow, glandular-hairy, 9-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, only 2-3 mm. wide at the mouth, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded; pollen sacs glabrous, sub-rotund, 0.5-0.6 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite; staminode bearded toward the expanded tip.
Fruits	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.	Capsule 4-5 mm. long

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon washingtonensis
Flowering time	May-August	June-August
Habitat	Open woods below 3000 feet in elevation.	From open slopes and flats at moderate elevations to alpine meadows.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest, where endemic to Chelan and Okanogan in Washington. [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. 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. 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: WA 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

Penstemon washingtonensis

egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon

Washington beardtongue

Habit

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

Tufted perennials from a loose, woody rhizome, the stems 1-2.5 dm. tall, usually glabrous below the glandular-hairy 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.

Leaves opposite, entire, the basal ones well-developed and forming rosettes, 2.5-6 cm. long and 5-18 mm. wide;

cauline leaves few, sessile, often reduced.

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 1-3 dense verticillasters;

calyx 4-6 mm. long, the 5 segments tapered, with scarious margins;

corolla deep blue or occasionally pale yellow, glandular-hairy, 9-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, only 2-3 mm. wide at the mouth, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded;

pollen sacs glabrous, sub-rotund, 0.5-0.6 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite;

staminode bearded toward the expanded tip.

Fruits

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

Capsule 4-5 mm. long