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harlequin monkeyflower, Whitney's monkeyflower

Habit Herbs, annual, herbage usually drying dark.
Stems

erect or ascending, 10–140(–220) mm, glandular-puberulent to glandular-pubescent.

Leaves

usually cauline, relatively even-sized;

petiole absent;

blade narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate, linear-lanceolate, or linear, (4–)7–23(–34) × 1–5(–8) mm, margins entire, plane, not ciliate, apex acute, surfaces glandular-puberulent.

Pedicels

1–3(–4) mm in fruit.

Flowers

2 per node, or 1 or 2 per node on 1 plant, chasmogamous.

Styles

glandular-puberulent.

Corollas

(a) magenta, darkening toward mouth and within tube, often nearly obscuring dark longitudinal stripes within, throat floor or at least palate ridges yellow, or (b) yellow, usually with maroon stripes in throat extending onto lobe bases, sometimes with maroon blotches on adaxial lateral walls of throat, colored palate ridges ending in throat, tube-throat (10–)13–18(–20) mm, limb 10–19 mm diam., not bilabiate.

Calyces

symmetrically attached to pedicels, not inflated in fruit, (3–)4–8(–10) mm, glandular-puberulent, tube not strongly plicate, lobes triangular, subequal, apex acute-apiculate, ribs narrow, darkened, purplish, thin, not strongly raised, intercostal areas pale green.

Capsules

(4.5–)6–10(–13) mm.

Anthers

included, ciliate.

Stigmas

included, lobes equal.

2n

= 16.

Diplacus bicolor

Phenology Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Disturbed areas, water runoff areas, granitic soils, edges of granite outcrops.
Elevation (1200–)1500–3300 m. ((3900–)4900–10800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Diplacus bicolor is endemic to Fresno, Kern, and Tulare counties in the southern Sierra Nevada. The combination D. whitneyi (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom is illegitimate, as Mimulus whitneyi A. Gray 1886, is a replacement name based on Eunanus bicolor A. Gray 1868.

Diplacus bicolor, D. bigelovii, D. constrictus, D. graniticola, D. layneae, and D. thompsonii appear to be closely related species, sometimes intergrading where sympatric. Plants of each species often produce flowers at all nodes and have dark magenta corollas with nearly regular to weakly bilabiate limbs and villous vestiture. Specimens of each species dry to a dark color.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 437.
Parent taxa Phrymaceae > Diplacus
Sibling taxa
D. angustatus, D. aridus, D. aurantiacus, D. bigelovii, D. bolanderi, D. brandegeei, D. brevipes, D. calycinus, D. cascadensis, D. clevelandii, D. clivicola, D. compactus, D. congdonii, D. constrictus, D. cusickii, D. cusickioides, D. deschutesensis, D. douglasii, D. fremontii, D. grandiflorus, D. graniticola, D. jepsonii, D. johnstonii, D. kelloggii, D. layneae, D. leptaleus, D. linearis, D. longiflorus, D. mephiticus, D. mohavensis, D. nanus, D. ovatus, D. parryi, D. parviflorus, D. pictus, D. pulchellus, D. puniceus, D. pygmaeus, D. rattanii, D. rupicola, D. rutilus, D. thompsonii, D. torreyi, D. traskiae, D. tricolor, D. vandenbergensis, D. viscidus
Synonyms Eunanus bicolor, M. nanus var. bicolor, M. whitneyi
Name authority (A. Gray) Hrusa: Phytoneuron 2014-17: 1. (2014)
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