Burke: Erythranthe alsinoides vs. Erythranthe pulsiferae

	Erythranthe alsinoides	Erythranthe pulsiferae
	chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower	candelabrum monkey-flower, Pulsifer's monkey-flower
Habit	Annual, glandular-hairy to somewhat glabrous (smooth), growing to 0.5-3 dm. in height. The plants are slender, and have either a simple or freely-branching form. Often found growing in uniformly dense patches. The stems frequently appear somewhat reddish.	Annuals with shallow, fibrous roots; stems 5-12 cm, erect, not bent or curved at nodes, not branched or only slightly branched proximally, covered with minute stalked glands, gland-tipped hairs 0.1-0.3.
Leaves	Opposite, slightly to evidently-toothed, 3-5 prominent veins on the upper surface. The blades are 0.5-2.5 cm. long, with a petiole of more or less equal length.	Leaves basal and cauline; petioles 2-9 mm with 3 distinct veins and 2 wings; blade elliptic-oblong to ovate or oblanceolate, 3-14 mm long and 2-9 mm broad, palmate venation with 3 veins, base cuneate to attenuate, margins finely toothed to entire, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glandular-hairy as stems.
Flowers	The yellow corollas fuse to form an upper and lower lip (bilabiate), and grow 8-14 mm. long. A conspicuous reddish-brown blotch is found on the lower and sometimes the upper lip. Individual flowers are attached to the stem by a long pedicel.	Axillary flowers 1-9, emerging from mid-stem to distal nodes; fruiting pedicels horizontally spreading-curved, 12-38 mm, glandular-hairy as stems; calyx cylindric, somewhat inflated, 7-10 mm, margins toothed or lobed, glandular-hairy as stems, lobes pronounced, erect; corollas yellow, tube-throat, palate ridges, lower limb yellow to light yellow, lower limb with red dots or not, symmetric bilaterally, barely bilabiate; tube-throat funnel-shaped and 6-9 mm, protruding beyond calyx margin; lobes widely obovate to somewhat orbicular, apex rounded; styles glabrous; anthers not protruding, glabrous.
Fruit(s)	Capsule.	Capsules 5-8 mm, included.

	Erythranthe alsinoides	Erythranthe pulsiferae
Identification notes	The reddish-brown blotch on the lower lip is very diagnostic along with its annual life cycle and tendency to be found in moss mats. The middle lobe of the lower lip tends to be the longest and somewhat curved backwards (deflexed). The lower two teeth of the calyx tend to be more rounded and longer than the upper three calyx teeth.
Flowering time	April-June	May-July
Habitat	Shady, vernally (springtime) moist places on cliffs and ledges, especially at low elevations; often growing in moss mats.	Vernally moist areas, seeps, and stream banks from the lowlands to middle elevations.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in south-central Washington; south-central Washington to California, [WildflowerSearch map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	E. ampliata, E. arvensis, E. breviflora, E. breweri, E. caespitosa, E. cardinalis, E. decora, E. dentata, E. floribunda, E. grandis, E. guttata, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. lewisii, E. microphylla, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. patula, E. primuloides, E. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. scouleri, E. suksdorfii, E. washingtonensis	E. alsinoides, E. ampliata, E. arvensis, E. breviflora, E. breweri, E. caespitosa, E. cardinalis, E. decora, E. dentata, E. floribunda, E. grandis, E. guttata, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. lewisii, E. microphylla, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. patula, E. primuloides, E. ptilota, E. scouleri, E. suksdorfii, E. washingtonensis
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Erythranthe pulsiferae

chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower

candelabrum monkey-flower, Pulsifer's monkey-flower

Habit

Annual, glandular-hairy to somewhat glabrous (smooth), growing to 0.5-3 dm. in height. The plants are slender, and have either a simple or freely-branching form. Often found growing in uniformly dense patches. The stems frequently appear somewhat reddish.

Annuals with shallow, fibrous roots; stems 5-12 cm, erect, not bent or curved at nodes, not branched or only slightly branched proximally, covered with minute stalked glands, gland-tipped hairs 0.1-0.3.

Leaves

Opposite, slightly to evidently-toothed, 3-5 prominent veins on the upper surface. The blades are 0.5-2.5 cm. long, with a petiole of more or less equal length.

Leaves basal and cauline;

petioles 2-9 mm with 3 distinct veins and 2 wings;

blade elliptic-oblong to ovate or oblanceolate, 3-14 mm long and 2-9 mm broad, palmate venation with 3 veins, base cuneate to attenuate, margins finely toothed to entire, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glandular-hairy as stems.

Flowers

The yellow corollas fuse to form an upper and lower lip (bilabiate), and grow 8-14 mm. long. A conspicuous reddish-brown blotch is found on the lower and sometimes the upper lip. Individual flowers are attached to the stem by a long pedicel.

Axillary flowers 1-9, emerging from mid-stem to distal nodes; fruiting pedicels horizontally spreading-curved, 12-38 mm, glandular-hairy as stems;

calyx cylindric, somewhat inflated, 7-10 mm, margins toothed or lobed, glandular-hairy as stems, lobes pronounced, erect;

corollas yellow, tube-throat, palate ridges, lower limb yellow to light yellow, lower limb with red dots or not, symmetric bilaterally, barely bilabiate;

tube-throat funnel-shaped and 6-9 mm, protruding beyond calyx margin;

lobes widely obovate to somewhat orbicular, apex rounded;

styles glabrous;

anthers not protruding, glabrous.

Fruit(s)

Capsule.

Capsules 5-8 mm, included.

Erythranthe alsinoides

Erythranthe pulsiferae

Identification notes

The reddish-brown blotch on the lower lip is very diagnostic along with its annual life cycle and tendency to be found in moss mats. The middle lobe of the lower lip tends to be the longest and somewhat curved backwards (deflexed). The lower two teeth of the calyx tend to be more rounded and longer than the upper three calyx teeth.

Flowering time

April-June

May-July

Habitat

Shady, vernally (springtime) moist places on cliffs and ledges, especially at low elevations; often growing in moss mats.

Vernally moist areas, seeps, and stream banks from the lowlands to middle elevations.

Distribution