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foul odor monkeyflower, skunky monkeyflower

Kaweah River bush monkeyflower, rock bush monkeyflower

Habit Herbs, annual. Subshrubs.
Stems

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

erect, 150–1500 mm, glandular-pubescent to viscid-villous.

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.

cauline, relatively even-sized;

petiole absent;

blade elliptic-lanceolate or lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, sometimes narrowly oblong, 20–75(–100) × 4–20(–28) mm, margins entire or shallowly crenate, plane or revolute, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surfaces moderately villous, hairs unbranched, vitreous, adaxial glabrous.

Pedicels

1–3 mm in fruit.

3–5 mm in fruit.

Flowers

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

2 per node, chasmogamous.

Styles

glabrous or sparsely glandular-puberulent.

minutely glandular.

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.

usually pale yellow or cream to yellow, not spotted or striped, palate ridges yellow to golden yellow, tube-throat 35–42 mm, limb 20–30 mm diam., bilabiate, lobes oblong, apex of adaxial 2 each shallowly, asymmetrically incised.

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.

not inflated in fruit, 28–40 mm, densely glandular-pubescent to short glandular-villous, tube slightly dilated distally, lobes unequal, apex acute, ribs green, intercostal areas light green.

Capsules

5–8 mm.

25–35 mm.

Anthers

exserted, short-hirsute.

exserted, glabrous.

Stigmas

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

exserted, lobes equal.

2n

= 20.

Diplacus mephiticus

Diplacus calycinus

Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep). Flowering Apr–Jul.
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. Granite outcrops, boulders, rocky gullies.
Elevation 1300–3700 m. (4300–12100 ft.) (300–)700–2200 m. ((1000–)2300–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

Although first described as a separate species, Diplacus calycinus has more recently been treated at subspecific or varietal rank (A. L. Grant 1924; F. W. Pennell 1951; P. A. Munz and D. D. Keck 1973). D. M. Thompson (2005) included both D. calycinus and D. longiflorus within his concept of Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens (Torrey) D. M. Thompson. He did not reference the study of sect. Diplacus by M. C. Tulig (2000), but results from the Tulig morphometric analyses indicated that D. calycinus is distinct from D. longiflorus, especially in corolla length, corolla tube length, and style length.

The type of Diplacus calycinus is from Tulare County, and the concept of the species is perhaps best restricted to the Sierran population system in Fresno, Kern, and Tulare counties, disjunct from D. longiflorus, which occurs primarily in coastal counties. The Sierran system is characterized by distinct abaxial leaf vestiture; the hairs are unbranched, broad, and vitreous, compared to the branched, thinner, and dull hairs of D. longiflorus. Plants of D. calycinus parapatric with D. longiflorus also show a tendency toward the characteristic vestiture and also have lighter-colored (but more variable in color) corollas with narrower but slightly shorter tubes. Intergradation between D. calycinus and D. longiflorus occurs in the region connecting the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains in San Bernardino County.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 441. FNA vol. 17, p. 449.
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. bicolor, D. bigelovii, D. bolanderi, D. brandegeei, D. brevipes, 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 D. longiflorus var. calycinus, Mimulus longiflorus subsp. calycinus, M. longiflorus var. calycinus
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012) Eastwood: Bot. Gaz. 41: 287. (1906)
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