Burke: Erythranthe decora vs. Erythranthe alsinoides

	Erythranthe decora	Erythranthe alsinoides
	sharp-leaved monkey-flower, showy monkey-flower	chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower
Habit	Rhizomatous perennials, occasionally producing many long runners from nodes near base; stems 20-100 cm, erect, not branched, ends of stems densely pubescent with minute and somewhat rigid hairs.	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.
Leaves	Leaves mostly cauline, basal leaves generally not persistent; petioles 8-25 mm near base, 3-5 mm mid-stem, sessile distally; blade ovate-triangular to ovate-lanceolate, typically 20-50 mm long and 10-30 mm broad, palmate venation with 5-7 veins, base rounded to truncate to shallowly cuneate, margins sharply toothed, apex acute, surfaces occasionally becoming glabrous, distalmost surfaces hairy as stems.	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.
Flowers	Axillary flowers generally 2-7, emerging from nodes at ends of stems; fruiting pedicels 18-35 mm, distalmost pedicels hairy as stems with hairs often barely deflexed; calyx green with occasional red spots, ovoid, inflated, compressed across sagittal plane, 15-19 mm, hairy as stems, throat closing, lobe margins villous; corollas yellow, throat commonly red-spotted, symmetric bilaterally, bilabiate; tube-throat widely funnel-shaped, 18-26 mm, protruding 10-15 mm beyond calyx margin; limb expanded 22-30 mm; styles prominently hirsute to villous; anthers not protruding, glabrous.	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.
Fruit(s)	Capsules 8-10 mm, included.	Capsule.

	Erythranthe decora	Erythranthe alsinoides
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	May-August	April-June
Habitat	Moist to wet open areas from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains.	Shady, vernally (springtime) moist places on cliffs and ledges, especially at low elevations; often growing in moss mats.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to southwestern Oregon, also in northern Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	E. alsinoides, E. ampliata, E. arvensis, E. breviflora, E. breweri, E. caespitosa, E. cardinalis, 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. 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
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: 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: 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

Erythranthe alsinoides

sharp-leaved monkey-flower, showy monkey-flower

chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower

Habit

Rhizomatous perennials, occasionally producing many long runners from nodes near base; stems 20-100 cm, erect, not branched, ends of stems densely pubescent with minute and somewhat rigid hairs.

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.

Leaves

Leaves mostly cauline, basal leaves generally not persistent;

petioles 8-25 mm near base, 3-5 mm mid-stem, sessile distally;

blade ovate-triangular to ovate-lanceolate, typically 20-50 mm long and 10-30 mm broad, palmate venation with 5-7 veins, base rounded to truncate to shallowly cuneate, margins sharply toothed, apex acute, surfaces occasionally becoming glabrous, distalmost surfaces hairy as stems.

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.

Flowers

Axillary flowers generally 2-7, emerging from nodes at ends of stems; fruiting pedicels 18-35 mm, distalmost pedicels hairy as stems with hairs often barely deflexed;

calyx green with occasional red spots, ovoid, inflated, compressed across sagittal plane, 15-19 mm, hairy as stems, throat closing, lobe margins villous;

corollas yellow, throat commonly red-spotted, symmetric bilaterally, bilabiate;

tube-throat widely funnel-shaped, 18-26 mm, protruding 10-15 mm beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 22-30 mm;

styles prominently hirsute to villous;

anthers not protruding, glabrous.

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.

Fruit(s)

Capsules 8-10 mm, included.

Capsule.

Erythranthe decora

Erythranthe alsinoides

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

May-August

April-June

Habitat

Moist to wet open areas from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains.

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

Distribution