Burke: Erythranthe primuloides vs. Erythranthe alsinoides

	Erythranthe primuloides	Erythranthe alsinoides
	primrose monkey-flower	chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower
Habit	Mat-forming perennial from long, thin rhizomes, the stem lax, up to 6 cm. long.	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 opposite, crowded near the ground, short-hairy abaxially (underside), viscid to glabrous adaxially (upperside); leaves oblanceolate, sessile, nearly entire, 3-nerved from the base, 7-25 mm. long and 3-11 mm. wide.	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	Flowers solitary on slender pedicels up to 10 cm. long arising from the leaf clusters; calyx narrow, 4-8 mm. long, mostly glabrous, the 5 teeth short, equal; corolla yellow, often dotted with maroon, 1-2 cm. long, scarcely bilabiate, the 5 lobes spreading, shallowly notched, the throat somewhat flaring; stamens 4.	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	Capsule.	Capsule.

	Erythranthe primuloides	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	June-August	April-June
Habitat	Wet meadows and boggy areas at middle to high elevations in the mountains.	Shady, vernally (springtime) moist places on cliffs and ledges, especially at low elevations; often growing in moss mats.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Montana, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. [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. decora, E. dentata, E. floribunda, E. grandis, E. guttata, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. lewisii, E. microphylla, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. patula, 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: 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: 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

primrose monkey-flower

chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower

Habit

Mat-forming perennial from long, thin rhizomes, the stem lax, up to 6 cm. long.

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 opposite, crowded near the ground, short-hairy abaxially (underside), viscid to glabrous adaxially (upperside);

leaves oblanceolate, sessile, nearly entire, 3-nerved from the base, 7-25 mm. long and 3-11 mm. wide.

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

Flowers solitary on slender pedicels up to 10 cm. long arising from the leaf clusters;

calyx narrow, 4-8 mm. long, mostly glabrous, the 5 teeth short, equal;

corolla yellow, often dotted with maroon, 1-2 cm. long, scarcely bilabiate, the 5 lobes spreading, shallowly notched, the throat somewhat flaring;

stamens 4.

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

Capsule.

Erythranthe primuloides

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

June-August

April-June

Habitat

Wet meadows and boggy areas at middle to high elevations in the mountains.

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

Distribution