Nitidus:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species.   plants herbaceous; NOT shrubby stem NOT woody stems erect or nearly so; NOT decumbent to ascending stems and leaves glabrous; NOT puberulent stems and leaves glaucous lower bracts suborbicular; NOT lanceolate flowers NOT:[numerous in dense terminal spikes or nodal clusters] flowers 12-25 mm long; NOT 25-40 mm long, NOT 8-12 mm long flowers blue; NOT purple to violet, NOT white, NOT finely purplish lined, NOT spotted corolla-tube broad funnelform, decidedly widened towards the throat; NOT slender and only slightly widened towards the throat style included style NOT yellow-pilose

 

Penstemon: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. plants mostly more than 4 dm high (Flora of Alberta).  This specimen, photographed during a dry spring, is clearly less than 4 dm. leaves all or chiefly cauline (sometimes also with a basal rosette) principal leaves opposite or whorled leaves entire leaves NOT pinnately or bipinnately lobed leaves NOT:[small and palmately veined] plants NOT with showy flowers mostly in the leaf axils plants NOT:[with flowers all axillary and less than 7mm long] calyx NOT:[tubular, sharply angled] calyx 5-parted; NOT 4-toothed, NOT 4-lobed corolla 5 mm long or longer upper lip of corolla erect; NOT arching corolla NOT spurred at the base four anther-bearing stamens and one long sterile stamen (staminode)

Scrophulariaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.  herbs plants green or with some chlorophyll plants NOT aquatic leaves NOT bearing bladders stems NOT square flowers NOT in heads or spikes flowers with two floral rings, but with the petals wholly or partly united forming a tube or bell corolla irregular ovary superior fruit a many-seeded capsule; NOT composed of four nutlets