Penstemon nitidus Dougl . ex Benth. 

 Scrophulariaceae 

 Shining penstemon 

 A. Description 



1. General description: Herbaceous perennial arising from a 

 woody crown, with distinctly firm, glaucous leaves that lend 

 it the common name of "shining" penstemon. The stem leaves 

 are clasping and often have a mucronate point. The flowers 

 have glabrous anthers and a corolla which is glabrous 

 externally, making up an infloresence in a tight compound 

 cluster. The sepals are usually less than 7 mm (.28 in) long 

 (from Great Plains Flora Association 1986) . 



2. Technical description: Herbaceous perennial; stems erect 

 or assurgent, (0.5)1-3.5(4) dm tall, glabrous and glaucous, 1- 

 7 stems arising from a thick crown or short-branched woody 

 caudex surmounting a taproot. Leaves entire, thick, firm, 

 glabrous and often heavily glaucous; basal leaves linear- 

 lanceolate to oblanceolate or spatulate, 1.5-10 cm long 

 overall, 0.2-2.7 wide, acute or ovate or freguently mucronate, 

 often tufted and reddish, petiolate, the petioles occasionally 

 winged; cauline leaves lanceolate to lance-ovate below, lance- 

 ovate to ovate above, (1.1)1.8-8.5 cm long, (0.3)0.5-2.8(3.2) 

 cm wide, acuminate to acute or freguently mucronate, clasping 

 to cordate-clasping. Thryse (2)5-17 cm long, with (2_4-10 

 verticillasters, compact to elongate, scarcely to distinctly 

 interrupted, cauline leaves below, much reduced above, 

 acuminate to acute, bases clasping to cordate-clasping. Calyx 

 glabrous and somewhat glaucous, lobes lanceolate to lance- 

 ovate, 3-8 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, acuminate, margins narrowly 

 scarious towards the base, entire to slightly erose; corolla 

 (10)13-15(18) mm long, tubular salverform, bilabiate, deep 

 blue or rarely pink, glabrous externally, throat 4-6 mm broad, 

 moderately ampliate, lined internally on the anterior and 

 posterior surfaces with violet or purple guidelines, lobes of 

 the upper lip eglandular hairs; staminode reaching the orifice 

 or slightly exserted, flattened distally and recurved, densely 

 bearded at the tip with golden-yellow hairs to 1.5 mm long, 

 more sparingly bearded away from the tip for 1.3-1.2 its 

 length; anther sacs 0.7-1.2 mm long, externally minutely 

 papillose, particularly along the sutures, divergent, 

 dehiscing nearly to the apices and across the connective, note 

 becoming explanate; style glabrous (Great Plains Flora 

 Association 1986) . 



3. Diagnostic characteristics: The clasping stem leaves 

 distinguish P. nitidus from P. angustifolius which it most 

 closely resembles. In addition, the leaves of P. nitidus are 

 lanceolate to ovate, acuminate or more freguently mucronate 

 vs. linear to lanceolate or lance-ovate, short to long 

 acuminate or acute. The anther sacs of P. nitidus are also 



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