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Penstemon pennellianus

Blue Mountain beardtongue, Blue Mountain penstemon, Blue Mountains beardtongue, Pennell's beardtongue, Pennell's penstemon

Davidson's beardtongue, Davidson's penstemon

Habit Subshrubs, cespitose.
Stems

ascending to erect, 18–85 cm, glabrous, not glaucous.

ascending to erect, 4–10(–17) cm, retrorsely hairy or puberulent, not glaucous.

Leaves

basal and cauline, ± leathery or not, glabrous, not glaucous;

basal and proximal cauline 55–250 × 7–40 mm, blade lanceolate to elliptic, base tapered, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute;

cauline 3–5 pairs, short-petiolate or sessile, 40–83 × 10–36 mm, blade ovate to lanceolate, base tapered to clasping, apex obtuse to acute.

persistent, 5–10 pairs, distals usually distinctly smaller than proximals, short-petiolate or sessile, (5–)10–20(–30) × 4–11 mm, blade elliptic to orbiculate, ovate, or spatulate, base tapered, margins entire or serrulate, apex rounded to obtuse or acute, glabrous or obscurely puberulent, not glaucous.

Thyrses

continuous, cylindric, 4–35 cm, axis glabrous, verticillasters 4–11, cymes 1–6-flowered, 2 per node;

proximal bracts ovate to lanceolate, 22–85 × 11–35 mm;

peduncles and pedicels glabrous, peduncles to 20 mm, pedicels 1–6 mm.

continuous, ± secund, 1–6 cm, axis retrorsely hairy proximally, retrorsely hairy and glandular-pubescent distally, verticillasters (1 or)2–7, cymes 1-flowered;

proximal bracts round to ovate or lanceolate, 3–12 × 1–6 mm, margins entire;

peduncles and pedicels ascending to erect, glandular-pubescent, sometimes also puberulent.

Flowers

calyx lobes ovate to lanceolate, (5.3–)6.5–8.5 × 1.6–3 mm, apex acuminate to caudate, glabrous;

corolla blue to violet or purple, with reddish purple nectar guides, ventricose, 29–35 mm, glabrous externally, glabrous internally, tube 8–11 mm, throat gradually inflated, not constricted at orifice, 9–10 mm diam., slightly 2-ridged abaxially;

stamens: longer pair reaching orifice, pollen sacs divergent to opposite, sigmoid, 2–2.7 mm, dehiscing incompletely, proximal 1/5–1/3 indehiscent, connective not splitting, sides sparsely hirsute, hairs white or tan, to 0.1 mm, especially near connective, sometimes merely scurfy near connective, sutures denticulate, teeth to 0.1 mm;

staminode 16–20 mm, reaching orifice, 0.5–1 mm diam., tip straight, distal 4–6 mm ± uniformly sparsely pilose, hairs yellow, to 1 mm;

style 20–24 mm.

calyx lobes lanceolate to linear, 7–12(–14) × 2.5–4.3 mm, glandular-pubescent;

corolla lavender to bluish lavender, violet, or purple, essentially unlined internally but abaxial ridges usually lavender or white, nearly personate, funnelform, 20–45 mm, glabrous externally, sparsely to moderately white-villous internally abaxially, tube (4–)6–12 mm, throat 7–12 mm diam.;

stamens included, pollen sacs 0.9–1.6 mm;

staminode 7–14 mm, slightly flattened distally, 0.1–0.2 mm diam., tip straight, distal 4–7 mm sparsely to densely villous, hairs whitish, to 1 mm;

style 19–26 mm.

Capsules

10–13 × 8–10 mm.

8–13 × 5–8 mm.

Penstemon pennellianus

Penstemon davidsonii

Phenology Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Rocky ridges, sandy to rocky slopes, coniferous forests.
Elevation 1300–1800 m. (4300–5900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Penstemon pennellianus occurs primarily in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon (Grant, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties) and southeastern Washington (Asotin, Columbia, and Garfield counties).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Penstemon davidsonii occurs mostly at high elevations in the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Corollas (30–)34–45 mm; leaf blades elliptic to ovate, sometimes spatulate, margins entire.
var. praeteritus
1. Corollas 20–36 mm; leaf blades spatulate to orbiculate or elliptic, margins serrulate or entire.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade margins entire, sometimes serrulate, apices rounded to obtuse.
var. davidsonii
2. Leaf blade margins ± serrulate, apices rounded to obtuse or acute.
var. menziesii
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 176. FNA vol. 17, p. 87.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Penstemon > sect. Glabri Plantaginaceae > Penstemon > subg. Dasanthera > sect. Erianthera
Sibling taxa
P. abietinus, P. absarokensis, P. acaulis, P. acuminatus, P. alamosensis, P. albertinus, P. albidus, P. albomarginatus, P. ambiguus, P. ammophilus, P. anguineus, P. angustifolius, P. arenarius, P. arenicola, P. aridus, P. arkansanus, P. attenuatus, P. atwoodii, P. auriberbis, P. australis, P. azureus, P. baccharifolius, P. barbatus, P. barnebyi, P. barrettiae, P. bicolor, P. bleaklyi, P. bracteatus, P. breviculus, P. brevisepalus, P. buckleyi, P. caesius, P. caespitosus, P. calcareus, P. californicus, P. calycosus, P. canescens, P. cardinalis, P. cardwellii, P. carnosus, P. caryi, P. centranthifolius, P. cinicola, P. clevelandii, P. clutei, P. cobaea, P. comarrhenus, P. compactus, P. concinnus, P. confertus, P. confusus, P. crandallii, P. cusickii, P. cyananthus, P. cyaneus, P. cyanocaulis, P. cyathophorus, P. dasyphyllus, P. davidsonii, P. deamii, P. deaveri, P. debilis, P. degeneri, P. deustus, P. digitalis, P. diphyllus, P. discolor, P. dissectus, P. distans, P. dolius, P. duchesnensis, P. eatonii, P. elegantulus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. flavescens, P. floribundus, P. floridus, P. flowersii, P. franklinii, P. fremontii, P. fruticiformis, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. gibbensii, P. glaber, P. glandulosus, P. glaucinus, P. globosus, P. goodrichii, P. gormanii, P. gracilentus, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. grandiflorus, P. griffinii, P. grinnellii, P. guadalupensis, P. hallii, P. harbourii, P. harringtonii, P. havardii, P. haydenii, P. heterodoxus, P. heterophyllus, P. hirsutus, P. humilis, P. idahoensis, P. immanifestus, P. incertus, P. inflatus, P. jamesii, P. janishiae, P. kingii, P. kralii, P. labrosus, P. laetus, P. laevigatus, P. laevis, P. lanceolatus, P. laricifolius, P. laxiflorus, P. laxus, P. leiophyllus, P. lemhiensis, P. lentus, P. leonardii, P. linarioides, P. longiflorus, P. lyallii, P. marcusii, P. mensarum, P. metcalfei, P. miser, P. moffatii, P. monoensis, P. montanus, P. moriahensis, P. mucronatus, P. multiflorus, P. murrayanus, P. nanus, P. navajoa, P. neomexicanus, P. neotericus, P. newberryi, P. nitidus, P. nudiflorus, P. oklahomensis, P. oliganthus, P. ophianthus, P. osterhoutii, P. ovatus, P. pachyphyllus, P. pahutensis, P. pallidus, P. palmeri, P. papillatus, P. parryi, P. parvulus, P. parvus, P. patens, P. payettensis, P. paysoniorum, P. peckii, P. penlandii, P. perpulcher, P. personatus, P. petiolatus, P. pinifolius, P. pinorum, P. platyphyllus, P. pratensis, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. pseudoputus, P. pseudospectabilis, P. pudicus, P. pumilus, P. purpusii, P. putus, P. radicosus, P. rattanii, P. retrorsus, P. rhizomatosus, P. richardsonii, P. roezlii, P. rostriflorus, P. rubicundus, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. saxosorum, P. scapoides, P. scariosus, P. secundiflorus, P. seorsus, P. sepalulus, P. serrulatus, P. smallii, P. spatulatus, P. speciosus, P. spectabilis, P. stenophyllus, P. stephensii, P. strictiformis, P. strictus, P. subglaber, P. subserratus, P. subulatus, P. sudans, P. superbus, P. tenuiflorus, P. tenuis, P. teucrioides, P. thompsoniae, P. thurberi, P. tidestromii, P. tiehmii, P. tracyi, P. triflorus, P. triphyllus, P. tubaeflorus, P. uintahensis, P. utahensis, P. venustus, P. virens, P. virgatus, P. wardii, P. washingtonensis, P. watsonii, P. whippleanus, P. wilcoxii, P. wrightii, P. xylus, P. yampaënsis
P. abietinus, P. absarokensis, P. acaulis, P. acuminatus, P. alamosensis, P. albertinus, P. albidus, P. albomarginatus, P. ambiguus, P. ammophilus, P. anguineus, P. angustifolius, P. arenarius, P. arenicola, P. aridus, P. arkansanus, P. attenuatus, P. atwoodii, P. auriberbis, P. australis, P. azureus, P. baccharifolius, P. barbatus, P. barnebyi, P. barrettiae, P. bicolor, P. bleaklyi, P. bracteatus, P. breviculus, P. brevisepalus, P. buckleyi, P. caesius, P. caespitosus, P. calcareus, P. californicus, P. calycosus, P. canescens, P. cardinalis, P. cardwellii, P. carnosus, P. caryi, P. centranthifolius, P. cinicola, P. clevelandii, P. clutei, P. cobaea, P. comarrhenus, P. compactus, P. concinnus, P. confertus, P. confusus, P. crandallii, P. cusickii, P. cyananthus, P. cyaneus, P. cyanocaulis, P. cyathophorus, P. dasyphyllus, P. deamii, P. deaveri, P. debilis, P. degeneri, P. deustus, P. digitalis, P. diphyllus, P. discolor, P. dissectus, P. distans, P. dolius, P. duchesnensis, P. eatonii, P. elegantulus, P. ellipticus, P. eriantherus, P. euglaucus, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. flavescens, P. floribundus, P. floridus, P. flowersii, P. franklinii, P. fremontii, P. fruticiformis, P. fruticosus, P. gairdneri, P. gibbensii, P. glaber, P. glandulosus, P. glaucinus, P. globosus, P. goodrichii, P. gormanii, P. gracilentus, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. grandiflorus, P. griffinii, P. grinnellii, P. guadalupensis, P. hallii, P. harbourii, P. harringtonii, P. havardii, P. haydenii, P. heterodoxus, P. heterophyllus, P. hirsutus, P. humilis, P. idahoensis, P. immanifestus, P. incertus, P. inflatus, P. jamesii, P. janishiae, P. kingii, P. kralii, P. labrosus, P. laetus, P. laevigatus, P. laevis, P. lanceolatus, P. laricifolius, P. laxiflorus, P. laxus, P. leiophyllus, P. lemhiensis, P. lentus, P. leonardii, P. linarioides, P. longiflorus, P. lyallii, P. marcusii, P. mensarum, P. metcalfei, P. miser, P. moffatii, P. monoensis, P. montanus, P. moriahensis, P. mucronatus, P. multiflorus, P. murrayanus, P. nanus, P. navajoa, P. neomexicanus, P. neotericus, P. newberryi, P. nitidus, P. nudiflorus, P. oklahomensis, P. oliganthus, P. ophianthus, P. osterhoutii, P. ovatus, P. pachyphyllus, P. pahutensis, P. pallidus, P. palmeri, P. papillatus, P. parryi, P. parvulus, P. parvus, P. patens, P. payettensis, P. paysoniorum, P. peckii, P. penlandii, P. pennellianus, P. perpulcher, P. personatus, P. petiolatus, P. pinifolius, P. pinorum, P. platyphyllus, P. pratensis, P. procerus, P. pruinosus, P. pseudoputus, P. pseudospectabilis, P. pudicus, P. pumilus, P. purpusii, P. putus, P. radicosus, P. rattanii, P. retrorsus, P. rhizomatosus, P. richardsonii, P. roezlii, P. rostriflorus, P. rubicundus, P. rupicola, P. rydbergii, P. saxosorum, P. scapoides, P. scariosus, P. secundiflorus, P. seorsus, P. sepalulus, P. serrulatus, P. smallii, P. spatulatus, P. speciosus, P. spectabilis, P. stenophyllus, P. stephensii, P. strictiformis, P. strictus, P. subglaber, P. subserratus, P. subulatus, P. sudans, P. superbus, P. tenuiflorus, P. tenuis, P. teucrioides, P. thompsoniae, P. thurberi, P. tidestromii, P. tiehmii, P. tracyi, P. triflorus, P. triphyllus, P. tubaeflorus, P. uintahensis, P. utahensis, P. venustus, P. virens, P. virgatus, P. wardii, P. washingtonensis, P. watsonii, P. whippleanus, P. wilcoxii, P. wrightii, P. xylus, P. yampaënsis
Subordinate taxa
P. davidsonii var. davidsonii, P. davidsonii var. menziesii, P. davidsonii var. praeteritus
Synonyms P. menziesii subsp. davidsonii
Name authority D. D. Keck: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 23: 614. (1940) Greene: Pittonia 2: 241. (1892) — (as Pentstemon)
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