E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Penstemon eriantherus Pursh
Crested Beardtongue (fuzzytongue penstemon; fuzzy-tongued penstemon)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Larry Halverson  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #58488)

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Distribution of Penstemon eriantherus
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Penstemon eriantherus var. eriantherus

Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a taproot surmounted by a frequently branched, largely underground stem-base; stems usually several, ascending to erect, 10-40 cm tall, minutely grey-hairy, sometimes also long-soft-hairy above and glandular-hairy in the inflorescence.
Leaves:
Opposite, entire to remotely toothed; basal and lower leaves lanceolate to egg-shaped, stalked, to 13 cm long; upper leaves lanceolate to oblong, nearly unstalked, 3-7 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster of several whorls of stalked flowers, the stalks glandular-hairy; corollas tubular, flaring at the mouth, (1.5) 2-4 cm long, pale lavender to blue-purple, lines of deeper colour within, strongly 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-lobed, the lower lip 3-lobed, longer than the upper, strongly bearded in the throat; calyces 7-13 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, long-tapering to a sharp tip, sticky-hairy; fertile stamens 4, the anthers essentially smooth; sterile stamen exserted, coiled at the tip, long yellow-bearded most of its length.
Fruits:
Capsules, broadly oval, long-pointed, 6-12 mm long, glandular-hairy near the tip; seeds numerous, 2-3 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry open slopes and terraces in the steppe and montane zones; infrequent in SE BC; E to AB and S to NB, CO, ID and WA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Penstemon eriantherus

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 750 1016 2012
Slope Gradient (%) 0 47 202
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
5 194 310
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 2 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
45
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ESSF(3), IDF(23), MS(6), PP(13)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References