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Washington monkey-flower

great purple monkey-flower

Habit Annuals with fibrous roots or threadlike taproot; stems 5-25 cm, erect to ascending, straight or sharply bent at nodes, typically heavily branched, not angled; puberulent- to villous-glandular, flattened gland-tipped hairs 0.1-0.8 mm, sometimes transparent. Perennial from stout, branching rhizomes, the stout stems clustered, 3-10 dm. tall; herbage viscid-villous.
Leaves

Leaves cauline, basal ones not persistent;

petioles 2-14 mm;

blade triangular to ovate to narrowly ovate, 4-16 mm long and 2-11 mm broad, palmate venation, base rounded to cuneate to truncate, margins finely toothed or entire, apex acute, surfaces hairy-glandular as stems.

Leaves opposite, sessile, with several prominent veins from the base, irregularly dentate to entire, the lower ones reduced;

leaves lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, acute, 3-7 cm. long and 1-3.5 cm. wide.

Flowers

Axillary flowers 1-6, emerging from nodes throughout; fruiting pedicels 20-50 mm, densely covered with minute stalked glands;

calyx greenish, ridged, tubular, slightly inflated, 6-8 mm, margins toothed or lobed, covered with minute stalked glands, lobes pronounced, erect;

corollas yellow with small reddish brown dots, lower limb with two whitish patches, symmetric bilaterally, bilabiate;

tube-throat funnel-shaped and 8-10 mm, protruding beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 7-10 mm, lobes obovate-oblong, apex rounded to somewhat cuneate;

styles hispid-hirtellous;

anthers not protruding, glabrous.

Flowers solitary in the leaf axils on pedicels 3-6 cm. long;

calyx 1.5-2.5 cm. long, the 5 teeth sharp-pointed and equal;

corolla showy, purplish-pink, marked with yellow, 3.5-5 cm. long, strongly bilabiate;

stamens 4.

Fruit(s)

Capsules 5-8.5 mm, included.

Capsule.

Erythranthe washingtonensis

Erythranthe lewisii

Flowering time April-June June-August
Habitat Shallow or gravelly soils of vernally moist areas at low elevations. Common in wet meadows and along rivers and streams from middle to high elevations in the mountains, occasionally found along low elevation rivers.
Distribution
Occurring east of the cascades crest in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; south-central Washington to adjacent north-central Oregon.
[WildflowerSearch map]
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
[WildflowerSearch map]
Origin Native Native
Conservation status Historical in Washington (WANHP) 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. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. scouleri, E. suksdorfii
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. microphylla, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. patula, E. primuloides, E. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. scouleri, E. suksdorfii, E. washingtonensis
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