Burke: Penstemon subglaber vs. Penstemon triphyllus

	Penstemon subglaber	Penstemon triphyllus
		whorled beardtongue
Habit		Taprooted perennial, shrubby at the base, the numerous, slender and brittle stems 2.5-8 dm. tall, puberulent.
Leaves		Leaves irregularly arranged, many ternate or whorled, others opposite or single, glabrous or puberulent, all cauline, the lowermost reduced, the others numerous, sessile from a narrow base, linear or narrowly lance-elliptic, up to 5 cm. long and 1 cm. wide, irregularly and sharply toothed.
Flowers		Inflorescence a loose panicle, often leafy-bracteate below; calyx 4-6 mm. long, the 5 segments green or purplish, entire, often unequal; corolla blue-lavender to light purple-violet, 13-19 mm. long, weakly bilabiate, glandular-hairy outside and glabrous within, the upper lip cleft more than half its length; anthers 0.9-1.3 mm. long, permanently horseshoe-shaped, the pollen sacs saccate and indehiscent below; staminode exerted, long-bearded half its length.
Fruits		Capsule 4-6 mm. long

	Penstemon subglaber	Penstemon triphyllus
Flowering time		May-July
Habitat		Cliff crevices and dry, rocky banks and slopes at low elevations.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in the southeastern area of Washington; Southeast Washington south to adjacent Oregon and east to adjacent Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
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. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
Subordinate taxa		P. triphyllus var. triphyllus
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: 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 subglaber

Penstemon triphyllus

whorled beardtongue

Habit

Taprooted perennial, shrubby at the base, the numerous, slender and brittle stems 2.5-8 dm. tall, puberulent.

Leaves

Leaves irregularly arranged, many ternate or whorled, others opposite or single, glabrous or puberulent, all cauline, the lowermost reduced, the others numerous, sessile from a narrow base, linear or narrowly lance-elliptic, up to 5 cm. long and 1 cm. wide, irregularly and sharply toothed.

Flowers

Inflorescence a loose panicle, often leafy-bracteate below;

calyx 4-6 mm. long, the 5 segments green or purplish, entire, often unequal;

corolla blue-lavender to light purple-violet, 13-19 mm. long, weakly bilabiate, glandular-hairy outside and glabrous within, the upper lip cleft more than half its length;

anthers 0.9-1.3 mm. long, permanently horseshoe-shaped, the pollen sacs saccate and indehiscent below;

staminode exerted, long-bearded half its length.

Fruits

Capsule 4-6 mm. long

Penstemon subglaber

Penstemon triphyllus

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Cliff crevices and dry, rocky banks and slopes at low elevations.

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in the southeastern area of Washington; Southeast Washington south to adjacent Oregon and east to adjacent Idaho.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa