Penstemon (varieties deustus, pedicillatus, variablis)
Penstemons Found East of the Cascade Mts.
http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/nature/basin/5petal/figwort/penstemon/scortched.htm
Scorched Penstemon
Scorched penstemon (var. variabilus) from the Columbia Hills, north of The Dallesport, WA....6/11/95.
The photo at right is a close-up of the upper inflorescence of
sand penstemon (var. variabilus) from the Columbia Hills, north
of The Dallesport, WA....6/11/95.
Characteristics:
Hotrock penstemon is a dense, clump-forming
pentemon, with a woody, much-branching base. It
may attain a height from 20-40 cm. The leaves are
mostly toothed. Variety variabilis may have entire to
slightly toothed leaves. The basal leaves are up to 5
cm in length on short petioles. The stem leaves are
sessile and clasping, and much reduced to bracts
within the infloresence.
The inflorescence has several to many loose to
densely crowded verticillasters. The sepals are 2.5-6
mm long with entire, thin, dry and green margins. The
corollas are mostly white or cream, to very palely
yellow. They may have or may lack red or purplish guide lines within the throat. The
corolla is from 8 to 20 mm long, the tube being slightly expanded towards the throat, and
with the upper lip petals being shorter than the lower lip petals. The anthers are spreading
to opposite with the glabrous sacs splitting flat. The staminode is mostly glabrous or
sparsely bearded at the tip in variety suffrutescens.
Varieties:
variety deustus: Leaves all opposite. Corolla 12-18 mm long. Staminode glabrous at the
tip. The upper petal lobes white or cream-colored. Found from central Washington south
through central Oregon and east to Idaho, southwestern Montana and northwest
Wyoming.
variety pedicellatus: Leaves all opposite. Corolla 10-15 mm long. Staminode glabrous at
the tip. The upper petal lobes brownish. Found from southeastern Oregon south to
northeastern California and east to southwetern Idaho and northern Nevada.
variety suffrutescens: Leaves all opposite. Corolla less than 1 cm long. Staminode with
a beard at the tip. Found from southwest Oregon south into northwestern California.
variety variabilis: A number of the leaves are 3-4 whorled at the nodes. The leaves have
entire to minutely toothed edges near the tips. Found from Klickitat County in southcentral Washington south to north-central Oregon.
Habitat:
Dry rocky places, rocky cliffs and outcrops, and grassy plains from the lowlands to
subalpine areas.
Range:
Central Washington south through all but northwest Oregon, into northern California, and
eastward through the Snake River basin of Idaho to western Wyoming, and south into
northern Utah and Nevada.
The photo above shows a dense cluster of scorched penstemon as seen along Tollgate Lane in the Umatilla
National Forest.................June 27, 2006.
The photo above shows a stem leaf of scorched penstemon (var. deustus) from open forest in the Fremont
National Forest..........July 19, 1998.
The photograph above shows a close-up of the flower of scorched penstemon (var. variabilis),
photographed east of Mitchell, OR along US Highway 26...........June 23, 1998.
The upper leaves of a growing stem of scorched penstemon (var. variabilis), photographed east of Mitchell,
OR along US Highway 26...........June 23, 1998.
Scorched penstemon (var. pedicellatus) from Oregon Highway 140 east of Lakeview, OR.......June 30,
1997.
Paul Slichter