Burke: Erythranthe ptilota vs. Erythranthe alsinoides

	Erythranthe ptilota	Erythranthe alsinoides
	sessile-leaved monkey-flower	chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower
Habit	Rhizomatous perennials, occasionally rooting at nodes nearest base; stems 20-80 cm, prostrate or decumbent to ascending, only slightly branched, villous eglandular hairs 1-2 mm, occasionally with shorter stipitate-glandular hairs, internodes evident.	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 cauline, basal ones not persistent, commonly congested; subsessile to sessile; blade oblong to lanceolate, 30-70 mm long and 10-22 mm broad, pinnate venation, base rounded, margins toothed to finely toothed, apex acute, 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 4-10, emerging from nodes at mid- to ends of stems; fruiting pedicels generally 22-50 mm, hairy as stems; calyx winged, cylindric-campanulate, barely inflated, 10-12 mm, villous with gland-tipped hairs, lobes spreading noticeably, strongly unequal, linear-lanceolate to slender-triangular, 5-9 mm, apex long acuminate-apiculate; corollas yellow, throat faintly marked with blackish-brownish lines, symmetric almost radially or weakly bilaterally, nearly regular or weakly bilabiate; tube-throat slenderly bell-shaped, 15-18 mm, protruding beyond calyx margin; lobe apex rounded; styles glabrous; anthers not protruding, covered with fine hairs that are stiff to slightly rigid.	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 6-8 mm, included.	Capsule.

	Erythranthe ptilota	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-September	April-June
Habitat	Wet places generally at low elevations.	Shady, vernally (springtime) moist places on cliffs and ledges, especially at low elevations; often growing in moss mats.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California. [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. primuloides, 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, CA, 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

sessile-leaved monkey-flower

chickweed monkey-flower, wing-stem monkey-flower

Habit

Rhizomatous perennials, occasionally rooting at nodes nearest base; stems 20-80 cm, prostrate or decumbent to ascending, only slightly branched, villous eglandular hairs 1-2 mm, occasionally with shorter stipitate-glandular hairs, internodes evident.

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 cauline, basal ones not persistent, commonly congested; subsessile to sessile;

blade oblong to lanceolate, 30-70 mm long and 10-22 mm broad, pinnate venation, base rounded, margins toothed to finely toothed, apex acute, 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 4-10, emerging from nodes at mid- to ends of stems; fruiting pedicels generally 22-50 mm, hairy as stems;

calyx winged, cylindric-campanulate, barely inflated, 10-12 mm, villous with gland-tipped hairs, lobes spreading noticeably, strongly unequal, linear-lanceolate to slender-triangular, 5-9 mm, apex long acuminate-apiculate;

corollas yellow, throat faintly marked with blackish-brownish lines, symmetric almost radially or weakly bilaterally, nearly regular or weakly bilabiate;

tube-throat slenderly bell-shaped, 15-18 mm, protruding beyond calyx margin;

lobe apex rounded;

styles glabrous;

anthers not protruding, covered with fine hairs that are stiff to slightly rigid.

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 6-8 mm, included.

Capsule.

Erythranthe ptilota

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-September

April-June

Habitat

Wet places generally at low elevations.

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

Distribution