Burke: Penstemon ovatus vs. Penstemon wilcoxii

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon wilcoxii
	egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon	Wilcox's beardtongue
Habit	Robust perennial from a woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, with stiff, spreading hairs below the inflorescence	Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for the 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, strongly serrate with slender teeth, the basal leaves well-developed, elliptic to deltoid-ovate, the blade up to 9 cm. long and 5 cm. wide, about equal to the petiole; cauline leaves often larger than the basal, sessile, 4-10 cm. long and 1.5-4 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 several large, loose verticillasters; calyx 2.5-5 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined; corolla blue, the paler throat with guide lines, 15-23 mm. long, the tube 4-8 mm. wide at the mouth, glandular-hairy on the outside, strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much longer than the upper, the raised portion bearded; pollen sacs 0.7-1.0 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite, glabrous; staminode with a recurved, bearded tip.
Fruits	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

	Penstemon ovatus	Penstemon wilcoxii
Flowering time	May-August	May-July
Habitat	Open woods below 3000 feet in elevation.	Open or often wooded, sometimes in rocky places, from the foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains.
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 in eastern Washington; Washington to Oregon, east to Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Threatened in Washington (WANHP)
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. washingtonensis
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: OR, 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 wilcoxii

egg-leaf beardtongue, broad-leaved penstemon

Wilcox's beardtongue

Habit

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

Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for the 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, strongly serrate with slender teeth, the basal leaves well-developed, elliptic to deltoid-ovate, the blade up to 9 cm. long and 5 cm. wide, about equal to the petiole;

cauline leaves often larger than the basal, sessile, 4-10 cm. long and 1.5-4 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 several large, loose verticillasters;

calyx 2.5-5 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate, narrowly scarious-margined;

corolla blue, the paler throat with guide lines, 15-23 mm. long, the tube 4-8 mm. wide at the mouth, glandular-hairy on the outside, strongly bilabiate, the lower lip much longer than the upper, the raised portion bearded;

pollen sacs 0.7-1.0 mm. long, wholly dehiscent, becoming opposite, glabrous;

staminode with a recurved, bearded tip.

Fruits

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.