Flora of North America species comparison

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Diplacus mephiticus

Diplacus bicolor

foul odor monkeyflower, skunky monkeyflower

harlequin monkeyflower, Whitney's monkeyflower
Habit Herbs, annual. Herbs, annual, herbage usually drying dark.
Stems

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

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

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.

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 mm in fruit.

1–3(–4) 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

glabrous or sparsely glandular-puberulent.

glandular-puberulent.
Corollas

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.

(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, 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.

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

5–8 mm.

(4.5–)6–10(–13) mm.
Anthers

exserted, short-hirsute.

included, ciliate.
Stigmas

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

included, lobes equal.
2n

= 16.

Diplacus mephiticus

Diplacus bicolor
Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep). Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat 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. Disturbed areas, water runoff areas, granitic soils, edges of granite outcrops.
Elevation 1300–3700 m. (4300–12100 ft.) (1200–)1500–3300 m. ((3900–)4900–10800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

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. 441. FNA vol. 17, p. 437.
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. 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
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 Mimulus mephiticus, M. coccineus, M. coccineus var. wolfii, M. densus, M. nanus var. mephiticus, M. reifschneiderae, M. stamineus, M. washoensis, M. wolfii Eunanus bicolor, M. nanus var. bicolor, M. whitneyi
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012) (A. Gray) Hrusa: Phytoneuron 2014-17: 1. (2014)
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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