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THE PENSTEMONS OF WESTERN CANADA
By Pauline Olthof
Olthof, Pauline. 1986. Bulletin of the American Penstemon Society. 45(1): 4-23.
INTRODUCTION
In this article I intend to include a very large area, stretching from the edge of the Canadian
Shield in Manitoba across the Prairies to the Foothills of Western Alberta as well as the
Cordilleran Region of British Columbia. The reason for taking this large an area is that in
describing the Penstemons of the Province of Alberta alone, large parts of Saskatchewan an d
Manitoba to the east, and parts of British Columbia to the west would have to be included as
well. Besides, in my study for this article, I was struck by the emphasis that could be placed on
the influence of environment on the distribution of plants if British Columbia, Saskatchewan,
and Manitoba were included in the article.
Great geological and geographical differences occur within this large area, and these
differences affect climate, aspects (exposure), and soil formation. All of this In turn affects
what plants are going to be able to grow in any given area within the larger region, Including
the Penstemons that are the subject of this writing.
The Prairies generally rise from lower elevations of between 1500 and 2600 feet in
Manitoba to about 3500 feet 1n Alberta. A few low hills, such as the Cypress Hills of southern
Alberta and Saskatchewan, are erosion remnants of a previous higher-elevation peneplain and now
still rise well above the general level of the Plains. The Cypress Hills and a few other such hills
have never been glaciated and therefore support a unique flora which includes pre-glacial
species. No such unglaciated areas occur in British Columbia, but, strangely enough, almost
the entire western half of the Yukon escaped glaciation during the Pleistocene. Most of
these erosion remnant hills receive higher precipitation than the surrounding terrain and as a
result, support trees and a woodland flora under these trees.
The Cordilleran region in Canada is divided longitudinally into three great belts: the
Eastern System, comprising the Rocky Mountains proper and the Foothills, the Interior
System, which consists largely of sedimentary rocks that were intricately folded and
faulted during the Tertiary Laramide Orogeny. They contain much limestone.
The Interior System includes lava flows and intrusives as well as much metamorphic
rock in its bedrock and various depths of glacial drift and lake sediments as cover. The
Coast Ranges are volcanic and also include much metamorphic material. Both the Rocky
Mountains and the Coast Ranges reach elevations well over 10,000 feet, while the Interior
System generally rises from an elevation of below 3000 feet in the Fraser Basin to the
northeast to above 6000 feet in the Columbia Mountains, but the general elevation is between
4000 and 5000 feet.
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This topography naturally influences climate which, generally speaking, is dry in
the Prairie Region (Great Plains), getting drier as one moves west. The high mountain ranges
of the Rockies and Coast Ranges of Western B.C. act as precipitation barriers leaving
extremely dry areas directly to the east: the Okanagan in British Columbia.and Alberta and
Saskatchewan behind the Rockies proper. The vegetation reflects these conditions: the
Okanagan and the southernmost parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan have semi-desert
conditions with cacti and, in southern Alberta, Yuccas.
Prairie soils tend to be deep, from black chernozems in Manitoba gradually changing
westward to less deep, brown soils in Saskatchewan and Alberta. In the southern parts of
these latter two Provinces, salts appear at the surface in many places. In the Cordilleran
Region, a large and varied array of soils may be found, depending on bedrock, depth of
glacial drift, and postglacial erosion. All these conditions are reflected in the
vegetation as are slope and aspect (the way a location faces, such as south or north, and
thus how much solar radiation is received). Nevertheless, within the genus Penstemon in
this large area of study, there occur some overlaps of distribution of Penstemon species (and
many other plant species) that appear to completely disregard all differences.
The following table of the Penstemon species, listed for the Prairies and for British
Columbia, has been drawn up in such a way that the occurrence of species in each region as well
as overlaps In occurrences may be seen at a glance. Since many of the species listed in the table
also occur in adjacent parts of the United States, this article intends to concentrate more on their
areal distribution and site preferences than on descriptions of each species, most of which appear
in one or the other of the Lodewick Penstemon Field Identifiers as well.
Canadian Prairies
General
albidus
confertus
eriantherus
gracilis
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DISTRIBUTION OF PENSTEMONS
Alberta & B.C.
B.C. East of Cascades
B.C. West of Cascades
albertinus
albidus
confertus
ellipticus
eriantherus
fruticosus
gracilis
lyallii
-
albertinus
confertus
ellipticus
eriantherus
fruticosus
gormanii
gracilis
lyallii
-
davidsonii
nemorosus [now named:
nitidus
procerus
-
nitidus
procerus
pruinosus
-
ovatus
-
-
richardsonii
serrulatus
-
Nothochelone nemorosa Ed.]
nitidus
procerus
puberulentus [not listed as a
penstemon species Ed.]
-
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DISTRIBUTION OVERVIEW
Based on the broad physiographic characteristics of the terrain covered in this article, as
well as on the preceding table, it seemed best to divide the 19 species of Penstemon
accordingly:
Group I - True Prairie Species:
Penstemon albidus Nutt., (white beardtongue)
This species is common on dry prairies and hillsides throughout the south-central and
southwestern parts of the Canadian Prairies from Alberta to southern Manitoba; ranges south to
New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma; east to Iowa and Minnesota. It often occurs in grasslands
and on limestone (Venning, 1984). It is unmistakable because of its white flowers which
may be tinged with violet. Buds reddish.
Flowers from June to July. Identifier Section I.
Penstemon gracilis Nutt., (lilac-flowered beardtongue.)
A slender and erect species, 15 to 50 cm (6-20 inches) tall, with flowers borne in clusters
of 2-3 1n the axils of the upper leaves, forming an open panicle of pale lilac or pale violet
flowers. It is a characteristic species of the Northern Great Plains, of moist to dry
prairie grasslands, often in sandy or rocky soil, ranging from British Columbia to western
Ontario, and south to New Mexico, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Flowers from June to July,
usually in mid-June. Identifier Section I.
In British Columbia this only occurs 1n the prairie lands of the Peace River District in
northeastern
B.C.
Penstemon puberulentus Rydb. [not listed as a penstemon species Ed.]
"Rare, but has been reported from the south-central parts (of the Canadian Prairies) adjacent to
the International Boundary. General distribution is in Idaho and Oregon." (Budd & Best, 1969,
c!964). It has not been found in any of the Penstemon Field Identifier Sections, and no time of
flowering has been found in any reference either.
Group II - "Transition" Species:
Under this heading are listed those species that occur in both Alberta and British Columbia
EAST of the Cascades/Coast Mountains:
Penstemon albertinus Greene
(Southeastern B.C. and extreme SW Alberta.) A handsome plant, about 20 cm (8 inches) tall,
with many flower stems from a thick, woody rootstock. Flowers in whorls, 1-1/2 to 2 cm long,
purplish blue. It is a plant of exposed dry gravelly slopes or rocky ridges. In Alberta 1t occurs
only in the extreme southwest of the Province (Moss, 1983), but in Waterton Lakes National
Park it is rather common at lower and middle elevations throughout the Park.
In southeastern B.C. and south into central Idaho and western Montana (both sides of the
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Continental Divide), it appears to "climb" to higher elevations. In the more southerly parts of its
range it can be found up to sub-alpine elevations. Penstemon albertinus flowers from May to
July.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon confertus Dougl. (Southern B.C. and western Alberta.)
A very common and widespread Penstemon, not only in Alberta but also in B.C., from the
Okanagan Valley eastwards, east into Saskatchewan south to central Oregon and western
Montana. It is a plant of fairly moist, open or wooded
places, often in meadows or along streams, to be found in the west up to elevations of 2300 m
(7500 feet) in the mountains. I collected this for the Herbarium of the University of Calgary from
the foot of an avalanche slope at
about 900 m (3000 feet) elevation in Kootenay National Park, in 1970 and 1971.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon ellipticus Coult & Fisher (Southeastern B.C. and SW Alberta.)
Low, mat-forming plants from a much-branched woody base, to be found on rock outcroppings,
cliff faces and similar exposed sites, mostly between 2000 and 2800 m (6500 and 9000 feet)
elevation. A beautiful and rather common plant in Waterton Lakes National Park which might be
confused with P^ lyallii; the latter has very narrow and long leaves and more flowers in open
clusters. Penstemon ellipticus can also be confused with P. fruticosus: it too is woody and
shrubby and has very large, violet-blue flowers on many stems from a stout rootstock and similar
smallish, mostly entire, lanceolate leaves. In P. ellipticus specimens examined in the University
of Calgary Herbarium, the leaves were slightly larger and the flowers somewhat smaller than in
P^ fruticosus. and R^ fruticosus also appears to be more woody.
Southwestern Alberta and southeastern B.C., south to northern Idaho and northwestern Montana.
In B.C. found in the Kootenay and Columbia Valleys.
Flowers from late June into August, sometimes September.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon eriantherus Pursh
(Extreme SW Alberta and Southeastern B.C.) There are four varieties of this species in the
Pacific Northwest as defined by Hitchcock et al. (Vol. 4, 1959, p. 384): vars. whitedii and
argillosus. which are sharply distinguished from var. eriantherus by the anthers and inflorescence
as well as geography - "and if only these three taxa had to be considered, the maintenance of two
species would be well justified. The var. redactus. however, so completely bridges the
differences that all four taxa must be considered as geographic races of a single species."
(Hitchcock et al, Vol. 4, 1959, p. 384). In western Canada only var. eriantherus occurs, and that
only in extreme southwestern Alberta and southeastern B.C., the distribution stretching east to
North Dakota and Nebraska and south to Oregon and central Washington and Colorado.
Dry, open places in the prairies and foothills, sometimes ascending to moderate elevations in the
mountains.
On May 20, 1971, I collected Penstemon er1 anthems (var. eriantherus) at Columbia Lookout
along B.C. Highway 93/95 (a northward continuation of Idaho Highway 95). This specimen was
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collected for the University of Calgary Herbarium, but on June 3, 1978, another specimen was
collected for my own Herbarium from a moist meadow off Highway 2 in southern Alberta, just
northwest of Fort McLeod. (This was also photographed). Both Herbarium specimens were
examined again. They are plants of about 40 cm tall, with several stems arising from a branched,
largely underground caudex. The plants are glandular villous in the inflorescence, with entire to
more or less toothed leaves, the basal ones poorly developed in the two specimens examined, up
to 13 cm long and 2 cm wide: robust plants. Inflorescence of several distinct whorls
(verticlllasters), with elongated calyx with lanceolate lobes. Corolla glandular-hairy on the
outside, pale lavender to reddish purple in the U. of C. Herbarium specimen, but a deep, rich
purple-blue in my own, 2-4 cm long, strongly inflated distally, to almost 1-1/2 cm wide at the
mouth, the lower lip slightly longer than the upper one; palate strongly bearded, and so is the
staminode which is exserted. Pollen sacs are relatively broad, as wide as long or about 1-1/2
times as long as wide, which is the distinguishing feature of var. eriantherus.
Flowers from May to July.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon fruticosus (Pursh) Greene
(Southern Alberta and British Columbia.)
This Is a variable species, a semi-evergreen, shrubby species with some leaves turning reddish in
the fall and then dropping, the rest dull green and remaining on the plant. Commonly forming
mats of 10 to 30 cm tall, with entire, elliptical, slightly leathery leaves. In var. scouleri (Lindl.)
Pennell & Keck, the leaves are much narrower and obscurely toothed. Flowers, up to 5 cm long,
usually are blue-lavender but may vary to white or pink. Along the old Highway 3 in southern
B.C., these conspicuous flowers could be seen on almost every other rocky ridge along the
Highway to the delight of all passing flower lovers, but since this Highway has now been
straightened, this exquisite pleasure is now lost to "progress," alas. The range of P. fruticosus is
strictly EAST of the Cascades, but from there on all across southern B.C. and southwestern
Alberta, south Into Montana, Wyoming and central Oregon where it may be found on dry,
rocky ledges and slopes, from low to quite high (alpine!) elevations.
Flowers from May to August.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon lyallii A. Gray
(Confined to the Crow's Nest Pass area of extreme SW Alberta and SE British Columbia)
This species has "absorbed" Penstemon linearifolius Coult. & Fisher (Moss, 1983), which
name is now no longer valid. Penstemon lyalli is an essentially glabrous, few-stemmed plant,
distinctly woody at the base, up to 60 cm tall, with erect leafy stems. The flowers are lilac-blue,
like those of P. fruticosus; a few with a pinkish tinge. Corolla with petals all about the same
length. Staminodes ("beards") not exserted. It Is a rather common and very striking plant at midelevations on rocky slopes, shale slides, and gravel bars along streams. In Alberta and B.C. It is
confined to the Crow's Nest Pass area, but the range extends south into northern Montana and
Idaho.
Flowers from June to early August.
Identifier Section I.
'This sharply marked species evidently hybridizes with the superficially very different P.
ellipticus in Montana." (Hitchcock et al., Vol. 4, 1959, page 394.)
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Since both species also occur in Canada and their ranges in this country overlap, it should be
expected that similar hybrids will be encountered here also, although I have found no mention of
this in any of the references consulted so far. Both species are deciduous, but P. lyallii is
herbaceous, whereas P. ellipticus is shrubby. Penstemon lyallii is the tallest member of the genus
in the Canadian Rocky Mountains Parks, where, together with P. acuminatus Dougl. and P.
albidus Nutt., It is found only in Waterton Lakes National Park; the light-blue-flowered P.
albertinus Greene, however, has been collected once in Banff National Park (Porsild, 1974).
Penstemon nitidus Dougl. ex Benth.
(SW Alberta and Crow's Nest Pass area In British Columbia.) Smooth blue beardtongue is
unmistakable because of its bluish, almost fleshy, broadly ovate leaves and usually brilliantly
blue flowers. The plant grows to about 35 cm tall, on open, often grassy, bluffs and knolls,
grassy hillsides and plains, disturbed areas, and sometimes on talus at moderate altitudes in the
mountains, mostly below 1700 m (5500 feet). Southwestern Alberta and the Crow's Nest Pass
area in B.C., south to northern Idaho and western Montana, SE to northern Wyoming and
northeastern Colorado, east to western North Dakota and southern Manitoba. It is very common
in southern Alberta. The flowers sometime appear to be rosy-pink rather than the more common
bright blue; some pink-flowered specimens were encountered in the University of Calgary
Herbarium. These were collected in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Flowers from May to July.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon nitidus apparently was much more widespread "throughout the entire south-central
and southwestern parts (of the Canadian Prairies)." (Budd & Best, 1969, c!964). If so, we have
here an example of the shrinking of the range of this species since Budd and Best's book was
researched and written, which is a time period of over 20 years. This kind of phenomenon
stresses the need for accurate recording of all collections and findings of plant species, and for
keeping these records up to date, and the distribution ranges indicated on topographical maps,
as is done at most universities' Herbaria. This allows for range comparisons over time so that
one can be aware of distribution changes over time and of many plant species, which can
indicate changes in vegetation associations over long intervals.
Penstemon procerus Dougl. ex Grah.
(Southeastern B.C. and SW Alberta to southern Manitoba.) There are several good specimens
of this species in my own Herbarium which show that, but for the deep, velvety blue flowers,
this species- could have been P^ confertus (pale-yellow-flowered). Since the ranges of these
two species partly overlap, it is helpful that the flower colors are so strikingly different.
According to Hitchcock et al. (1959), P. procerus may also be P^ ochroleucus or £._ whitedii. but
Moss (1983) does not mention either of these latter two species in the description of P^ procerus.
probably because neither of the other two species have been recorded for Canada in either Moss
or any of the other references consulted for this article, so that they probably do indeed not occur
in Canada. Taylor (1974) gives the following distribution and habitat discription for the species:
"Dry soil, often in open woods; rocky slopes from mid-altitudes to above timberline east of the
Coast Mountains, Alaska to Alberta and Saskatchewan, south to California and Colorado.
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General except on Vancouver Island." Moss (1983) gives a distribution range which did not
include Alaska but at the other end extends into southwestern Manitoba.
Budd & Best (1969, c!964) state that P. procerus is usually found In large colonies around
slough margins, In shelter of shrubs, and in openings in woodlands, and is "common all over
the southern and central parts of the Canadian Prairies."
It usually flowers from the end of May until early August.
Identifier Section I.
Group III- Strictly British Columbia Species, EAST of the Cascades
Penstemon attenuatus Dougl.
In Canada, this is strictly a B.C. species, known only from the southeastern Kootenays. Tufted
stems from a caudex, up to 70 cm tall, glabrous except in the glandular-pubescent inflorescence.
Leaves dark green, entire or nearly so, the basal ones well developed linear-lanceolate to oval,
petiolate, as much as 17 cm long and 4 cm wide; upper leaves sessile, reduced. Inflorescence of
two to several dense whorls of 1-1/2 to 2 cm long flowers varying from shades of blue-purple to
yellowish or almost white. Calyx with long lobes with ragged margins. The staminode ("beard")
Is densely yellow-haired at its expanded tip. This is a species of pine woods, drier meadows and
open hillsides, where it should be conspicuous because of its size. It ranges from the southeast
Kootenays in B.C. to northwestern Manitoba and south to north-central Wyoming, eastern
Oregon, and southern Idaho. The variety palustris sometimes occurs In WET meadows, and not
at high elevations. It flowers from June to August.
NOTE: In Idaho, it hybridizes freely with P. wilcoxli. which has not been listed for Canada.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon pruinosus Dougl. ex Lindl.
(Southern B.C. 4 northern Washington, dry interior.)
Clustered stems, usually not over 30 cm (1 ft.) tall, from a stout caudex. Plant viscid-puberulent
throughout. Leaves lanceolate to ovate, basal ones up to 10 cm long, with long, slender petioles,
caudal ones sessile; all leaves have sharply serrated margins. Inflorescences in several compact
whorls (verticillasters), but the flowers are not usually numerous. Calyx 4-6 mm long, lobes
lanceolate to oblong, sharp-pointed. Corolla deep purple-blue, 10-16 mm long, glandular-hairy
outside; lower lip larger than upper one; palate bearded, staminode ("beard") not exserted.
Sagebrush, open forest, and rocky slopes to mid-altitudes, east of the Cascades of southern
B.C. and northern
Washington, in the dry interior. It flowers from May to early June.
This entire description was taken from Taylor, 1974, except for the flowering time, which is
from Hitchcock et al., Vol.4, 1959, p. 400. I have never found this Penstemon myself, nor was
there a specimen in the University of Calgary Herbarium for me to examine.
Identifier Section I.
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Penstemon richardsonii Dougl. ex Lindl.
This is a rather unmistakable species in that the leaves, all cauline, are all sharply serrate-dentate
to irregularly pinnatifid, and the whole aspect of this entire plant is quite weedy, which is very
unlike any other Penstemon, at least in Canada. The flowers also seem to be irregularly scattered
over the plant. The corolla is bright lavender-blue to rose-lilac, glandular-hairy on the outside;
lower lip sometimes with white hairs near the mouth. Anthers sparsely or moderately longbearded and usually well-Manitoba and south to north-central Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and
southern Idaho. The variety palustris sometimes occurs in WET meadows, and not at high
elevations. It flowers from June to August.
NOTE: In Idaho, it hybridizes freely with P. wilcoxii. which has not been listed for Canada.
Identifier Section I.
P.richardsonii is to be found in dry, open, mostly rocky places at low elevations east of the
Cascades, but according to the distribution map for B.C. (Taylor, 1974, p. 184),west of the
Rocky Mountains proper. In fact, this has
been recorded from B.C. only from the Keremeos and Osoyoos areas at the southern end of the
Okanagan Valley of south-central B.C.
It flowers from May to August.
Identifier Section I.
Group IV - British Columbia WEST of the Cascades
Penstemon davidsonii Greene (= P. menziesii Hook.)
This is one of four species of Penstemon occurring only west of the Cascade Mountains, and/or,
in B.C., the Coast Mountains. This species ranges from about the 55th Parallel south, and occurs
also on Vancouver Island; In the Cascades just north of the International Boundary, and from
there south to the Sierra region of California. It also occurs in the Olympic Mountains of
Washington. Rocky and gravelly places, ledges, and sometimes on talus, from moderate to high
elevations in the mountains. It is a low, shrubby, mat-forming plant with thick, glandular, entire,
short-petioled, serrate-edged, elliptic to roundish leaves, up to 1-1/2 cm long, with rounded tips.
Leaves of flowering stems few and small. Flowers in few-flowered racemes, somewhat
glandular-hairy. Calyx 7-10 mm long with broadly-lanceolate lobes, hairy, ending 1n finelytapered tips. Corolla blue-lavender to purple-violet, 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cm long, which seems very
large for so small and low-growing a plant, and should make it easy enough to recognize when
found, in spite of the fact that there aren't too many of these large flowers on a plant. Flower
throat moderately extended, anthers densely long-woolly, staminode long-bearded toward the tip,
the "beard" slightly exserted.
Flowers from June to August.
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon nemorosus (Dougl.) Trautv.
Renamed Chelone nemorosus. this may not be a true Penstemon any more, but is still so called
In several of the references consulted for this article, and thus will be briefly dealt with here.
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Stems few, erect, from an unbranched rootstock, woody, up to 80 cm (32 inches) tall. Leaves all
cauline, thin, smooth, ovate, paler and somewhat downy on the underside, with strongly serrated
margins. Inflorescence glandular-pubescent, loosely few-flowered. Calyx about 10 mm long,
hairy, with ovate to lanceolated lobes. Corolla bluish-purple to deep rose, glandular-pubescent on
the outside, +3 cm long, with dilated throat, upper Up shorter; middle lobe of the lower lip longer
than the two lateral ones. Anthers densely long-wooly, and staminode ("beard") much shorter
than the fertile stamens, bearded throughout its length.
Open woods and moist rocky slopes, and in moist crevices of broken rock, southern Vancouver
Island to northern California, west of the Cascades; in Washington also known from the Olympic
Mountains.
Flowers from July to August (October!) Identifier Section I
According to Penstemon Field Identifier Section IX, this species ought to be called Notochelone
nemorosa, and while in B.C. it has the synonymous name of Chelone nemorosus; this should be
an interesting species!
Penstemon ovatus Dougl.
Several robust, woody-based stems, up to about 90 cm (3 feet) tall, rise from a woody caudex.
Rosette of lanceolate-ovate, glabrous, smooth-margined basal leaves, 10-15 cm (4-6 inches)
long, with petioles of about the same length. Caudal leaves sessile to clasping, 2-1/2 to 5 cm long
(1-2 inches), well-spaced along the stem, tending to become more triangular and smaller
upwards. Flowers in whorls, lilac to rosy-pink to blue-purple, hairy on the outside, 1-1/2 to 2 cm
long (5/8 to 3/4 inch); lower lip longer than the upper one. Staminode conspicuous.
Penstemon ovatus is found in open woods at elevations of up to 900 m (3000 ft.) in extreme
southwestern B.C.: the lower Fraser Valley and southern Vancouver Island. The range extends
south into Washington west of the Cascades, and south, only a short distance into northwestern
Oregon.
Flowers from May to June (August).
Identifier Section I.
Penstemon serrulatus Menzies ex Smith
(Southern B.C. to central Oregon and SW B.C. as far north as the Skeena River).
Taylor (1974) calls this a "sub-shrub." It can grow up to 70 cm tall; foliage often glabrous below,
usually slightly hairy above, which is just the opposite of what is usually found, and may well be
a good additional identifying criterion. Specimens examined in the University of Calgary
Herbarium appeared to be about 30 to 40 cm tall, woody at the base, with a rosette of longpetioled basal leaves, which were lanceolate, serrate-margined, glabrous-looking (no hairs seen
with ordinary magnifying lens). Caudal leaves were well-spaced along the stem, also serratemargined, lanceolate, sessile, about 3-5 cm long. Flowers mostly in terminal racemes, few to
many per raceme, with a few in one or two whorls below the terminal raceme. Corolla rosepurple to dark blue, 1-1/2 to 3 cm long. Staminodes slightly exserted.
This species occurs in a variety of moist to wet habitats from near sea level to 1800 m (6000 ft.)
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elevation in the mountains, in open places, particularly along streams.
Identifier Section I.
One additional Penstemon species was found to occur in British Columbia, if only from the
Cassiar District of extreme north-central B.C., from where its range extends north into the Yukon
and into Alaska, where it occupies "arid situations, particularly alpine slopes, as high as 3000
feet." (The Alaska-Yukon Wildflowers Guide, by the Staff of Alaska Magazine. Anchorage,
Alaska, 1974). This species is Penstemon g or m anil Greene, and is listed at the very end of
Penstemon Field Identifier Section II, 1971, and will not be further described since it is actually a
bit outside of the area of this article.
REFERENCES CONSULTED
1. For background material on the physiography of the region: Geology and Economic
Minerals of Canada. R.J.W. Douglas, Scientific Editor. Ottawa, Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources, August 1968.
2. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest, by Leo C Hitchcock, et al. Seattle, Washington
University Press, 1959. Vol. 4.
This is the standard work for all vascular plants of north western North America. Volume 4
contains the Scrophularliaceae, to which the genus Penstemon belongs.
3. Flora of Alberta, by Ezra H. Moss. Second edition, revised by John G. Packer. Toronto,
University of Toronto Press, 1983.
This has been my main reference for Alberta and adjacent areas of the Prairies and British
Columbia, in part
because it is the most up-to-date work available to me.
4. Wild Plants of the Canadian Prairies, by Archibald C. Budd and Keith F. Best. Ottawa,
Canada Dept. of Agriculture, Research Branch, 1969, circa 1964.
This Is my own copy; the Public Library has a new edition, 1974, which was consulted, but the
section on Penstemon hadn't changed. Clear line drawings of several species of Penstemon.
5. The Figwort Family of British Columbia, by T.M.C. Taylor. Booklet No. 33 of the British
Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria, B.C., 1974.
This booklet is still available from the Museum; postal code V8W-1A1, @ $5.00 Canadian,
payable to the Minister of Finance of B.C. if ordered by mail. It has clear line drawings and
distribution maps for B.C., and is more than worth buying if a trip through B.C. is planned.
6. Flora of Waterton Lakes National Park, (by) Job Kuijt. Edmonton, University of Alberta
Press, c!982.
A large and detailed book with clear line drawings and a good general description of this extreme
southwestern corner of Alberta. The treatment is "consistently alphabetical, initially at the family
level and, within each family at the level of the genus and finally at that of the species." A bit
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bewildering at first to one who has been used to the conventional phylogenetic system, but there
is no real disruption of the framework, although finding one's way in the book could have been
made easier if the family name were repeated at the top of each page, as is done in Moss's Flora
of Alberta (1983).
7. Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, (by) Alf Erling Porsild. Illus. by Dagny Tande Lid. Ottawa,
National Museums of Canada/Parks Canada, 1974. Pages 356-360, Penstemons.
This was used to double-check flower colors, since they are superbly rendered in this booklet.
8. A field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, by Craighead, Craighead & Davis.
This is the familiar Roger Tory Peterson Guide Series book for the wildflowers of the Rockies.
Only Penstemon fruticosus and P. procerus are described (pp. 177-179), but Plate 20 has
excellent photos of P. albertinus. P. cyaneus. and P. eriantherus, the color rendition of which is,
as far as I can judge, as close as photos can get.
9. A Guide to Field Identification - Wildflowers of North America, by Frank D.Yenning. Illus.
by Manabu C. Saito.
New York, Golden Press (Western Publishing Company), 1984. Pages 238-239, Penstemons.
Used because of its recent date, but it is indeed a guide to field identification - to the genus level
only, for it lists no more than a few species as examples for each genus. Moreover, the colors
didn't seem completely accurate to me. Probably useful when traveling in an area of North
America where the flora is totally unfamiliar, to get some basic idea of what is what.
12
A. Penstemon gracilis
B. Penstemon nitidus
C. Penstemon procerus
From: Budd, AC and Best, KF. 1969. Wild Plants of the Canadian
Prairies. Ottawa, Canada Department of Agriculture.
Drawing by: A.C. Budd
13
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Penstemon
Penstemon
Penstemon
Penstemon
Penstemon
confertus Dougl.
ellipticus Coult. & Fisher
lyallii Gray
nitidus Dougl.
albertinus Greene
From: A Flora of Waterton Lakes National Park by Job Kuijt.
Edmonton, University of Alberta Press, 1982.