Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to north-central and northeast Oregon.
Habitat: Cliff crevices and other dry, rocky places at low to moderate elevations.
Flowers: June-August
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Bumblebees, bees, flies, wasps, hummingbirds
Taprooted perennial, shrubby at the base, the several brittle, slender stems 2-8 dm. tall, puberulent, the inflorescence glandular-hairy and the leaves often glabrous.
Leaves opposite, all cauline, the lower reduced and short-petiolate, the others sessile, sharply serrate-dentate to irregularly pinnatifid, up to 7 cm. long and 3 cm. wide.
Inflorescence a terminal panicle, leafy-bracteate below; calyx 4-8 mm. long, the 5 segments green or purplish, mostly entire, often unequal; corolla bright lavender to purplish-red, glandular-hairy outside, mostly glabrous within, 22-32 mm. long, over 1 cm. wide at the mouth, strongly bilabiate, the upper lip cleft nearly half its length; anthers 1.3-1.7 mm. long, permanently horseshoe shaped, the pollen sacs saccate and indehiscent below; staminode shortly exerted, long-bearded toward the tip, or glabrous.
Capsule 5-8 mm. long
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Penstemon richardsonii in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Penstemon richardsonii checklist entry
OregonFlora: Penstemon richardsonii information
E-Flora BC: Penstemon richardsonii atlas page
CalPhotos: Penstemon richardsonii photos