Burke: Penstemon pruinosus vs. Penstemon wilcoxii

	Penstemon pruinosus	Penstemon wilcoxii
	Chelan beardtongue	Wilcox's beardtongue
Habit	Plants tufted from a stout, branched, and woody base, the stems 1-4 dm. tall; inflorescence always glandular-hairy, the rest of the plant varying from glandular-hairy to glabrous.	Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for the inflorescence
Leaves	Leaves opposite, usually sharply serrate, sometimes most of them entire; basal leaves well-developed, up to 10 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blades elliptic to ovate, equaling the petiole; cauline leaves sessile, triangular-ovate to narrowly lanceolate, smaller than the basal leaves.	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 of several compact verticillasters; calyx 3-6 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate; corolla deep blue or lavender, 11-16 mm. long, the tube slightly expanded, 2.5-5 mm. wide at the mouth, the throat paler and marked with guide lines, glandular-hairy externally, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded; pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite; staminode with a bearded 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 5-7 mm. long, glabrous.	Capsule 4-6 mm. long.

	Penstemon pruinosus	Penstemon wilcoxii
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Open, rocky places from the valleys and plains to moderate elevations in the mountains, and in the scablands in Washington.	Open or often wooded, sometimes in rocky places, from the foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Washington. [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. ovatus, P. palmeri, P. pennellianus, P. procerus, 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, 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

Chelan beardtongue

Wilcox's beardtongue

Habit

Plants tufted from a stout, branched, and woody base, the stems 1-4 dm. tall; inflorescence always glandular-hairy, the rest of the plant varying from glandular-hairy to glabrous.

Perennial from a branched, woody base, the clustered stems 3-10 dm. tall, usually glabrous except for the inflorescence

Leaves

Leaves opposite, usually sharply serrate, sometimes most of them entire;

basal leaves well-developed, up to 10 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blades elliptic to ovate, equaling the petiole;

cauline leaves sessile, triangular-ovate to narrowly lanceolate, smaller than the basal leaves.

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 of several compact verticillasters;

calyx 3-6 mm. long, the 5 segments broadly lanceolate;

corolla deep blue or lavender, 11-16 mm. long, the tube slightly expanded, 2.5-5 mm. wide at the mouth, the throat paler and marked with guide lines, glandular-hairy externally, the raised portion of the lower lip bearded;

pollen sacs glabrous, dehiscent throughout and becoming opposite;

staminode with a bearded 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 5-7 mm. long, glabrous.

Capsule 4-6 mm. long.