Flora of North America species comparison

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Diplacus cusickii

Diplacus leptaleus

Cusick's monkey-flower

least flower monkey flower, least monkeyflower, slender monkeyflower
Habit Herbs, annual. Herbs, annual.
Stems

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

erect to ascending, 10–140 mm, glandular-puberulent to short glandular-villous.
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 cauline, relatively even-sized;

petiole absent;

blade oblanceolate to linear, (5–)6–24(–34) × (0.5–)1–4(–7.5) mm, margins entire, plane, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glandular-puberulent.
Pedicels

1–1.5 mm in fruit.

1(–3) mm in fruit.
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.
Styles

pubescent, at least on distal 1/2.

sparsely glandular-puberulent.
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.

magenta, sometimes white, throat whitish, often speckled with dark spots, palate ridges weak, whitish to pinkish, tube-throat 6–8 mm, limb 3–5 mm diam., not bilabiate.
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.

symmetrically attached to pedicels, not inflated in fruit, (2.5–)3–5.5(–6.5) mm, glandular-puberulent, lobes subequal, apex acute, ribs darkened, blackish, intercostal areas purplish.
Capsules

10–15 mm.

(3–)4–6(–6.5) mm.
Anthers

included, glabrous or sparsely hirsutulous.

included, glabrous.
Stigmas

exserted, lobes subequal.

included, lobes unequal, abaxial nearly 2 times adaxial.
2n

= 16.

Diplacus cusickii

Diplacus leptaleus
Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Slopes, canyons, washes, ditches, sand talus, diatomaceous slopes, basalt outcrops, black volcanic gravel, volcanic ash and sand, sagebrush areas. Developing granitic soils, boulders of granite outcrops, disturbed areas, water runoff areas.
Elevation 800–1000 m. (2600–3300 ft.) (1800–)2100–3400 m. ((5900–)6900–11200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[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 leptaleus occurs in the Sierra Nevada from Nevada County south to Tulare County, California, and in southern Washoe County, Nevada. Diplacus leptaleus is the only species of Diplacus that commonly produces white flowers. Populations rarely are fixed for white corollas; they are commonly fixed for magenta corollas, especially at higher elevations (D. M. Thompson 2005).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 439. FNA vol. 17, p. 438.
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. douglasii, D. fremontii, D. grandiflorus, D. graniticola, D. jepsonii, D. johnstonii, D. kelloggii, D. layneae, 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 Mimulus leptaleus
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 28. (2012) (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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