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Cusick's monkey-flower

brownies, Douglas' monkeyflower, mouse-ear monkeyflower, purple mouse-ears

Habit Herbs, annual. Herbs, annual.
Stems

erect to erect-ascending, 10–80 mm, distal internodes 2–20 mm, minutely glandular-puberulent.

erect, 3–40(–80) mm, glandular-puberulent and/or glandular-pubescent.

Leaves

basal and cauline or usually cauline, relatively even-sized or gradually larger distally;

petiole absent, proximal base short petiole-like, 1–5 mm;

blade ovate to broadly elliptic-ovate, (10–)15–25(–35) × 4–17 mm, margins entire, plane, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous or adaxial minutely glandular-puberulent.

usually basal, reduced distally;

petiole absent, larger with petiole-like extension;

blade obovate to elliptic, 5–28(–35) × (2–)3–10(–12) mm, margins entire or crenate, plane, not ciliate, apex obtuse, surfaces: proximals glabrate, distals glandular-pilose adaxially.

Pedicels

1–1.5 mm in fruit.

(1–)2–4 mm in fruit, usually twisting to invert calyx.

Flowers

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

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

Styles

pubescent, at least on distal 1/2.

pubescent distally.

Corollas

magenta or rose purple, tube yellow, throat yellow, throat and distal tube red-spotted on floor, palate ridges yellow, tube-throat 13–16(–19) mm, limb 16–24 mm diam., bilabiate.

throat magenta to dark purple, inside with longitudinal gold markings basally, adaxial lip magenta, palate ridges golden yellow, tube-throat (15–)20–41(–45) mm, limb 10–14 mm diam., abaxial lip essentially absent.

Calyces

symmetrically attached to pedicels, not inflated in fruit, 7–10 mm, glabrous or minutely stipitate-glandular, lobes unequal, apex linear-acuminate, sharp-pointed, ribs green distally, intercostal areas whitish.

distinctly asymmetrically attached to pedicel, not inflated in fruit, (6–)8–14(–15) mm, sparsely glandular-pilose, lobes subequal, apex appearing acute due to their continuity with ribs, ribs green to purplish, intercostal areas whitish.

Capsules

10–15 mm.

(2.5–)3–6.5 mm.

Anthers

included, glabrous or sparsely hirsutulous.

(distal pair) nearly exserted, glabrous or glabrate.

Stigmas

exserted, lobes subequal.

exserted, lobes unequal, abaxial 10–20 times adaxial.

2n

= 18.

Diplacus cusickii

Diplacus douglasii

Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Feb–Apr(–May).
Habitat Slopes, canyons, washes, ditches, sand talus, diatomaceous slopes, basalt outcrops, black volcanic gravel, volcanic ash and sand, sagebrush areas. Gentle to moderately steep slopes, upper banks of small creeks and ditches.
Elevation 800–1000 m. (2600–3300 ft.) 50–1200 m. (200–3900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Diplacus cusickii is endemic to northern Malheur County, Oregon, and along the Snake River in Ada and Owyhee counties, Idaho. Its narrow geographic range reflects the segregation of the more widely distributed D. cusickioides.

D. M. Thompson (2005) noted that collections in northern Malheur County, Oregon, were intermediate between Mimulus cusickii and M. nanus; the type of M. cusickii is from this area and is among the narrowly endemic, supposedly putative intermediates (G. L. Nesom 2013c). These plants have abruptly and sharply acuminate leaf apices like the more widespread form traditionally identified as Diplacus cusickii; they differ in having glabrous leaf surfaces. Typical D. nanus occurs in close sympatry, without intergradation, with the populations in northern Malheur County. Because of their distinctive morphology and coherent geography, the northern Malheur County plants are reasonably recognized as a distinct species. The more widely distributed form formerly identified as D. cusickii now is identified as D. cusickioides. Populations of D. cusickii in the narrow sense along the Snake River in Ada and Owyhee counties, Idaho, may have dispersed there from the Oregon center. Some plants of D. cusickioides in the Leslie Gulch area of east-central Malheur County have somewhat reduced vestiture, approaching that of D. cusickii.

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

Diplacus douglasii occurs in southwestern Oregon and the northern two-thirds of California.

Diplacus douglasii is distinct in the complete or nearly complete lack of abaxial corolla lobes. Diplacus brandegeei, D. congdonii, D. kelloggii, and D. traskiae, the other species of sect. Cleisanthus, also show a distinct tendency toward reduction of the abaxial corolla lobes, and all species of the group except D. brandegeei produce markedly elongate corolla tubes.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 439. FNA vol. 17, p. 445.
Parent taxa Phrymaceae > Diplacus Phrymaceae > Diplacus
Sibling taxa
D. angustatus, D. aridus, D. aurantiacus, D. bicolor, D. bigelovii, D. bolanderi, D. brandegeei, D. brevipes, D. calycinus, D. cascadensis, D. clevelandii, D. clivicola, D. compactus, D. congdonii, D. constrictus, 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
D. angustatus, D. aridus, D. aurantiacus, D. bicolor, 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. 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 cusickii, Mimulus cusickii Eunanus douglasii, Mimulus cleistogamus, M. douglasii
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 28. (2012) (Bentham) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 32. (2012)
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