Penstemon fruticosus (Pursh) Greene var. fruticosus
shrubby penstemon (bush penstemon)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Thayne Tuason     (Photo ID #76342)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Penstemon fruticosus var. fruticosus
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Low shrubs or sub-shrubs, 15-40 cm tall; stems much-branched, ascending to erect, often reddish and brittle, smooth to minutely hairy on new growth and glandular-hairy in the inflorescence.
Leaves:
Mostly opposite, more or less evergreen, smooth, primary leaves tending to be concentrated toward the base and on short sterile shoots, short-stalked, the blades linear to broadly lanceolate, toothed or entire, 1-6 cm long; leaves of the flowering shoots reduced and less crowded.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a short, bracted, terminal raceme of a few pairs of stalked flowers, the stalks hairy; corollas blue-lavender to light purple, tubular, 2.5-5 cm long, distinctly 2-lipped, smooth on the outside, long-white-hairy within on the lower lip near its base and on a pair of ridges; calyces 7-15 mm long, hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes lance-linear to narrowly egg-shaped; fertile stamens 4, the anthers densely white-woolly; sterile stamen shorter than the fertile stamens, long-yellow-bearded toward the tip.
Fruits:
Capsules, 8-12 mm long; seeds numerous, angled, narrowly winged, 1-2 mm long.
Notes:
Two sympatric varieties occur in BC.

1. Leaves entire or slightly fine-toothed, relatively broad, 2-7 times as long as wide; corollas 2.5-4 cm long....................var. fruticosus

1. Leaves more or less toothed or sometimes entire, relatively narrow, 6-10 times as long as wide; corollas 3.5-5 cm long....................var. scouleri (Lindl.) Cronq.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry rocky hillsides and open forests in the steppe to alpine zones; common in S BC in and east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and south of 53degreeN; S to MT, WY and OR.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia