Cheerful Penstemon, Gay Penstemon

The photo at right shows cheerful penstemon on this page were taken on the Road to Blue Sky, Hart Mt. National Antelope Refuge........June 29, 1997.

Characteristics:

Cheerful penstemon is a tall, several stemmed perennial wildflower. Its flowering stems are often up to 80 cm tall. It is slender in appearance, and often is found sprawling near the ground. The leaves are primarily found on the stems. They are linear to oblanceolate in shape, tapering to a point. The leaves are entire, and often folded at the midrib on the upper leaves. The upper leaves are sessile and somewhat clasping. Leaf length varies from 2 to 7 cm. The stems may be green or purplish in color, and smooth below to finely hairy and glandular above.

The inflorescence is a raceme-panicle with 4-12 open verticillasters. The corolla is pink, blue-violet to purple. They are 2 cm to 3.5 cm in length. The corolla is definitely two-lipped, the lips moderately spreading. The corolla is glandular outside, smooth inside. The anthers are arrow-shaped and noticeably bent. The calyx is glandular and leaf-like, the sepals linear to narrowly ovate, ranging from 5-6.5 mm long. The staminode is glabrous and just reaches the mouth of the tube.

Cheerful penstemon is found in conifer forests, and sagebrush flats and slopes from low to moderately high elevation.

Cheerful penstemon is found from the southwestern Oregon counties of Josephine, Klamath, and Lake (near Summer Lake) south into northern California.