Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Diplacus layneae

Diplacus mephiticus

Layne's monkeyflower

foul odor monkeyflower, skunky monkeyflower
Habit Herbs, annual, herbage usually drying dark. Herbs, annual.
Stems

erect, 30–160(–300) mm, nodes 3–6, glandular-puberulent to glandular-pubescent, hairs 0.2–0.8 mm.

erect, (20–)30–150(–180) mm, glandular-pubescent and viscid-villous.
Leaves

usually cauline, relatively even-sized;

petiole weakly delimited;

blade elliptic to narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate, elliptic-oblanceolate, or elliptic-lanceolate, 8–27(–35) × 2–8 mm, margins entire, rarely toothed, plane, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces: proximals often glabrate, distals glandular-puberulent or glandular-pubescent.

usually cauline, relatively even-sized;

petiole absent;

blade ovate to oblong or narrowly elliptic to narrowly lanceolate, narrowly oblong, or linear, 10–25 × 1–5 mm, margins entire, plane, not ciliate, apex rounded to obtuse or acute, surfaces usually glandular-pubescent and (at least along veins) viscid-villous.
Pedicels

2–4(–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

glandular-puberulent.

glabrous or sparsely glandular-puberulent.
Corollas

pinkish or pale to dark magenta or red-purple, each lobe usually with a faint to dark medial line extending 1/2 or less to tip, throat floor yellowish near base, mostly white with red-purple dots near mouth, palate ridges white, tube-throat 10–15 mm, limb (8–)10–16 mm diam., not bilabiate.

of 2 color forms: (a) dark magenta, purplish, or reddish with palate ridges or whole throat floor yellow, red- or purple-dotted, lateral lobes yellowish inside and (b) yellow with red or purple spots on floor, tube-throat 8–12(–15) mm, tube 1.3–1.9 mm diam. at filament insertion, limb 5–12(–15) mm diam., bilabiate.
Calyces

symmetrically attached to pedicels, not inflated in fruit, (5–)6–8(–9) mm, glandular-puberulent to glandular-pubescent, tube strongly plicate, lobes triangular, subequal, apex acute, ribs broad, darkened, blackish, thickened, strongly raised, intercostal areas whitish, membranous.

symmetrically attached to pedicels, slightly inflated in fruit, (3–)4–7(–9) mm, glandular-pubescent and viscid-villous (at least along veins), lobes subequal, apex acute to acuminate, ribs dark green to purplish, intercostal areas whitish.
Capsules

6–10(–13) mm.

5–8 mm.
Anthers

included, ciliate.

exserted, short-hirsute.
Stigmas

included, lobes unequal, abaxial 1.5 times adaxial.

exserted or at opening of corolla tube-throat, lobes subequal to unequal, abaxial to 2 times adaxial.
2n

= 16.

Diplacus layneae

Diplacus mephiticus
Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep).
Habitat Road banks, serpentine, granitic sand, red clay, lava beds and volcanic soils, openings in chaparral, shallow dry streambeds or stream banks, burned or otherwise disturbed open areas. Openings in sagebrush, disturbed slopes, granite outcrops, serpentine substrates, gravelly and sandy soils, sandy moraines, pumice flats, gravelly washes, meadows, shadscale and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands.
Elevation (100–)400–2400 m. ((300–)1300–7900 ft.) 1300–3700 m. (4300–12100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

D. M. Thompson (2005) observed that two forms of Diplacus layneae co-occur from the Yosemite National Park area southward; one of these is recognized here as D. graniticola.

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

Diplacus mephiticus occurs in eastern California and west-central Nevada.

Various synonyms treated here are in agreement with D. M. Thompson (2005). Mimulus coccineus (mostly from Eldorado to Tulare counties, California, and, apparently, including Eunanus angustifolius Greene from Mt. Rose, Nevada) includes relatively small, tufted plants at high elevations with relatively small calyces and relatively small, dark red-purple, strongly bilabiate corollas with prominently exserted stamens. Mimulus densus (mostly in Nevada and in Lassen, Nevada, and Plumas counties, California) includes taller plants at lower elevations with a strong tendency to produce populations with all individuals with larger, yellow, nearly regular corollas with more nearly included stamens. Typical Diplacus mephiticus has moderate-sized plants at medium elevations with magenta, bilabiate corollas.

The specific epithet mephiticus alludes to the musky odor of the plants; this has also been noted in plants of Mimulus coccineus and M. densus. Diplacus nanus, in which D. M. Thompson (2005) included D. mephiticus as a variety, apparently does not produce a mephitic odor. Diplacus cusickii also produces a mephitic odor (W. L. Ezell 1971).

The later homonym Mimulus angustifolius (Greene) A. L. Grant 1925, not Hochstetter ex Richard 1850, based on Eunanus angustifolius, pertains here.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 437. FNA vol. 17, p. 441.
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. cusickii, D. cusickioides, D. deschutesensis, D. douglasii, D. fremontii, D. grandiflorus, D. graniticola, D. jepsonii, D. johnstonii, D. kelloggii, 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. leptaleus, D. linearis, D. longiflorus, 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 layneae, Mimulus brachiatus, M. layneae Mimulus mephiticus, M. coccineus, M. coccineus var. wolfii, M. densus, M. nanus var. mephiticus, M. reifschneiderae, M. stamineus, M. washoensis, M. wolfii
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012) (Greene) 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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers