Lesser yellow beardtongue

Appearance

General:
Tufted perennial from a woody rhizome, the stems 2-5 dm. tall, mostly glabrous.
Leaves:
Leaves opposite, entire, the lower ones petiolate, up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide and forming a rosette; cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, up to 10 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 2-10 compact verticillasters, the lower remote; bracts of the inflorescence with uneven margins; calyx 3-5 mm. long, the 5 segments with broad, uneven margins and a abrupt, slender tip; corolla ochroleucous or light yellow, 8-12 mm. long, the tube narrow, 2-3.5 mm. wide at the mouth, the short limb weakly bilabiate, the staminode and raised lower petal bearded; pollen sacs purple, glabrous, 0.4-0.7 mm. long, becoming opposite.
Fruits:
Capsules 4-5 mm. long.

Distribution

Chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Idaho and Montana.

Habitat

Open woods at mid-elevations in the mountains.