Burke: Penstemon washingtonensis vs. Penstemon speciosus

	Penstemon washingtonensis	Penstemon speciosus
	Washington beardtongue	royal beardtongue, showy penstemon
Habit	Tufted perennials from a loose, woody rhizome, the stems 1-2.5 dm. tall, usually glabrous below the glandular-hairy inflorescence.	Perennial from a compact, branched, woody base, the several stout stems 2-9 dm. tall, glabrous or gray-puberulent.
Leaves	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.	Leaves opposite, entire, thick and firm, the basal ones clustered, petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blade oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic; cauline leaves sessile and sometimes clasping, up to 2 cm. wide, 3.5-10 times as long as wide.
Flowers	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.	Inflorescence of numerous, loose verticillasters, sometimes one-sided; calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments ovate, scarious margined, pointed; corolla bright blue, 26-38 mm. long, 1 cm. wide at the mouth; pollen sacs 1.9-3.0 mm. long, spreading, S-shaped, mostly glabrous, a short portion remaining indehiscent; staminode usually glabrous.
Fruits	Capsule 4-5 mm. long	Capsule 9-12 mm. long.

	Penstemon washingtonensis	Penstemon speciosus
Flowering time	June-August	May-July
Habitat	From open slopes and flats at moderate elevations to alpine meadows.	Dry, open or sparsely wooded areas, often with sagebrush, juniper or ponderosa pine, mostly in the lowlands and foothills.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest, where endemic to Chelan and Okanogan in Washington. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	East of the Cascades in Washington; Washington south to California, east to Nevada and Utah. [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. 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	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. subserratus, P. triphyllus, P. venustus, P. washingtonensis, P. wilcoxii
Web links	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	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, 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 washingtonensis

Penstemon speciosus

Washington beardtongue

royal beardtongue, showy penstemon

Habit

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

Perennial from a compact, branched, woody base, the several stout stems 2-9 dm. tall, glabrous or gray-puberulent.

Leaves

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.

Leaves opposite, entire, thick and firm, the basal ones clustered, petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, the blade oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic;

cauline leaves sessile and sometimes clasping, up to 2 cm. wide, 3.5-10 times as long as wide.

Flowers

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.

Inflorescence of numerous, loose verticillasters, sometimes one-sided;

calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments ovate, scarious margined, pointed;

corolla bright blue, 26-38 mm. long, 1 cm. wide at the mouth;

pollen sacs 1.9-3.0 mm. long, spreading, S-shaped, mostly glabrous, a short portion remaining indehiscent;

staminode usually glabrous.

Fruits

Capsule 4-5 mm. long

Capsule 9-12 mm. long.