Shrubby Penstemon, Bush Penstemon
Penstemon fruticosus var. fruticosus
Synonym: Penstemon fruticosus ssp. fruticosus
Shrubby penstemon atop a bald overlooking the South Fork Tieton Trail #1120 about one-quarter mile north of the Conrad Creek bridge, Wenatchee National Forest.........June 28, 2013.
Shrubby penstemon on cliffs at Diamond Head, northwest edge of Table Mountain,
Wenatchee N.F.....July 25, 1996.
Characteristics:
Shrubby Penstemon is a woody, mat forming penstemon with numerous flowering and sterile stems atop dense mats of leaves. The flowering stems may reach a height of 40 cm.
The leaves are evergreen, leathery, and shiny green. Leaves are both basal and cauline (stem), with the latter being smaller. In variety fruticosus, the leaves are broader than in the other varieties, and are toothed and linear-oblanceolate in shape.
3.The inforescence is a few-flowered raceme. The glandular sepals are pointed at the tip. The corolla is blue-lavender to purple, and up to 5 cm in length. The flowers are two-lipped.
Habitat:
Shrubby penstemon inhabits rocky, often talus slopes to forests, from the foothills into alpine areas.
Range:
Shrubby penstemon is found east of the Cascade summit from British Columbia, south through the Washington Cascades, and eastward to the Idaho panhandle, and again eastward to Wyoming. A southern branch extends through central Oregon to the Cascades, and also down the Columbia Gorge.
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Shrubby penstemon blooming at left on rocky slopes near the summit of Lookout Mountain, Badger Creek Wilderness..........July 4, 2013. The image at right shows a massed bloom of shrubby penstemon blooming along Forest Road #58 between the junctions of Spur Road #223 and Forest Road #6506, Gifford Pinchot National Forest......June 25, 2024.
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Shrubby penstemon blooming at left in the webmaster's garden in Gresham, Oregon........May 13, 2014. The photo at right shows shrubby penstemon in bloom atop Lookout Mt., Badger Creek Wilderness......July 13, 2019.
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Shrubby penstemon as seen at left along a user trail along the ridgetop between the South Fork Tieton River and Conrad Creek, Goat Rocks Wilderness........July 24, 2016. The photo at right shows shrubby penstemon blooming on Lookout Mt, Badger Creek Wilderness........July 16, 2017.
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Shrubby penstemon blooming along the Little Naches River Road, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest......June 9, 2019.
A nice clump of shrubby penstemon atop a bald overlooking the South Fork of the Tieton River near its junction with Conrad Creek, Wenatchee National Forest.........June 28, 2013.
Shrubby penstemon beginning to bloom near the summit of Lookout Mountain, northern edge of the Badger Creek Wilderness..........June 21, 2014.
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Shrubby penstemon observed at the top of a north-facing boulder field along the Cedar Creek Trail #467 abount one and one-quarter miles east of Fifteenmile Campground, Mount Hood National Forest......July 8, 2022.
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Shrubby penstemon observed at the top of a north-facing boulder field along the Cedar Creek Trail #467 abount one and one-quarter miles east of Fifteenmile Campground, Mount Hood National Forest......June 27, 2023.
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Shrubby penstemon in bloom at left on the rocky, open slopes atop Monte Cristo, Monte Cristo Natural Area Preserve......June 21, 2022.
The image at right shows shrubby penstemon beginning to bloom atop Lookout Mountain, Badger Creek Wilderness....July 3, 2024.
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Shrubby penstemon along Oregon Highway 35 northeast of Mt Hood.........May
1992.
Paul Slichter