General description: Perennial plants 10-20 cm tall, with pubescent stems.  Stem leaves are narrow (5 mm wide) and are often folded.  Basal leaves tend to be narrow and deciduous.  Flowers are blue-purple, and glandular hairy.  Anther sacs are villous on side opposite dehiscence.  Staminode is sparsely white-bearded, usually just at the tip (Ackerfield 2012, Spackman et al. 1997, Fertig and Neighbours 1996, Dorn 1990).

Look Alikes: Penstemon saxosorum has leaves over 5 mm wide and glabrous stems and sepals. Penstemon fremontii and P. glaber have non-glandular inflorescences and wider leaves (Spackman et al. 1997).

Phenology: June-September (Spackman et al. 1997).

This species occurs on barren outcrops of white shale and sandstone of the Brown's Park Formation. It is commonly growing in very fine textured sandy clay soils with gravel and cobbles, and is often associated with cryptobiotic crusts. It is predominantly found on steep slopes that are highly susceptible to erosion. Plant cover is never more than 20% in the vicinity of the occurrences. Associated taxa include Wyethia scabra, Chrysothamnus viscidifloris, Stanleya pinnata, Asclepias cryptoceras, Astragalus kentrophyta, Hymenopappus filifolia, Oryzopsis hymenoides, Hedysarum boreale, Oxytropis lambertii, Tetradymia canescens, Euphorbia sp., Phlox sp., Lesquerella sp., Gallium sp., and Cryptantha spp. It is sometimes found among scattered pinyons and junipers (Pinus edulis and Juniperus osteosperma).

Elevation Range: 5,407 - 5,728 feet (1,648 - 1,746 meters)

Colorado endemic: No
Global range: South-central Wyoming, northwestern Colorado and adjacent northeastern Utah.
State range: Known from extreme northwestern Moffat County in Colorado. Estimated range in Colorado is 13 square kilometers (5 square miles), calculated in GIS by drawing a minimum convex polygon around the known occurrences (calculated by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program in 2008). Also known from Utah and Wyoming.

The primary threat at this time is considered to be motorized recreation (Rondeau et al. 2011). Use of off-road vehicles, grazing, and noxious weed invasion are impacting both occurrences of this species in Colorado (Dorn 1990, Spackman and Anderson 1999).