Blooms: May-August
Habit: shrub,herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: Native
Conservation Status: Abundant; of no concern.

Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia south to Oregon, east to Montana and Wyoming.
Habitat: Common in rocky, open or wooded areas, foothills to rather high elevations in the mountains.

Species Description:

General: Bushy-branched, ascending or erect shrubs, the stems 1.5-4 dm. tall, glabrous except for the stalked glands in the inflorescence.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, the larger leaves crowded toward the base of the season’s growth on short, sterile shoots, the blades entire or toothed, up to 6 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, short-petiolate; flowering shoots with reduced and less-crowded leaves.
Flowers: Inflorescence a short, few-flowered, bracteate raceme, with simple, axillary pedicels; calyx 7-15 mm. long, with 5 lanceolate, long-acuminate segments; corolla blue-lavender to light purplish, 30-50 mm. long, 1 cm. wide at the mouth, keeled on the back, glabrous outside, with long, white hairs on the base of the lower lip within; anthers long-woolly, the pollen sacs wholly dehiscent and opening wide enough to form a plane; staminode slender, shorter than the 4 fertile filaments, long-bearded toward the tip.
Fruits: Capsules 8-12 mm. long.

Subspecies & Varieties:

Penstemon fruticosus (Pursh) Greene

Treated in Flora of the PNW as:

PNW Herbaria Specimens: View list of Penstemon fruticosus specimens in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.

WTU Herbarium Specimens: View list of Penstemon fruticosus specimens in the WTU Herbarium database.

Washington Flora Checklist: Penstemon fruticosus treatment.

E-Flora BC: Penstemon fruticosus atlas page.

CalPhotos: Penstemon fruticosus images.

USDA Plants Database: Penstemon fruticosus.