Flora of North America species comparison

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Diplacus mephiticus

Diplacus torreyi

foul odor monkeyflower, skunky monkeyflower

Torrey's monkeyflower
Habit Herbs, annual. Herbs, annual, herbage not drying dark.
Stems

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

erect, (20–)40–380(–530) 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, gradually reduced distally;

petiole poorly delimited;

blade elliptic or oblanceolate, (3–)6–40(–48) × (0.5–)1–14(–19) mm, margins entire, plane, apex rounded, surfaces: proximals glabrate, distals glandular-puberulent or glandular-pubescent.
Pedicels

1–3 mm in fruit.

1–3(–6) 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.

tube magenta, limb magenta to pale rose, rarely nearly white, abaxial lip usually paler, palate ridges yellow, tube-throat (8–)9–18(–20) mm, limb 8–20 mm diam., weakly 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, (2–)5–10(–12) mm, glandular-puberulent to glandular-pubescent, lobes shallowly triangular to broadly ovate, subequal, apex obtuse, rarely apiculate, ribs purplish.
Capsules

5–8 mm.

(5–)6–11(–13) mm.
Anthers

exserted, short-hirsute.

included, sometimes slightly ciliate.
Stigmas

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

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

= 20.

Diplacus mephiticus

Diplacus torreyi
Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep). Flowering May–Aug.
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. Moist sand in channel beds and flood plains, exposed slopes along streams, roadside ditches, serpentine slopes, volcanic outcrop margins, gravelly openings, rocky serpentine soils, ridges in yellow pine and Jeffrey pine forests, openings in yellow pine, lodgepole pine, red fir, and mixed conifer woodlands, chaparral edges, meadows, recent burns, roadsides, road banks.
Elevation 1300–3700 m. (4300–12100 ft.) (100–)700–2000(–2400) m. ((300–)2300–6600(–7900) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch 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 torreyi occurs from Lassen and Shasta counties to Fresno County in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range.

Diplacus torreyi is recognized by its erect, usually single-stemmed habit (usually with the proximal one or two internodes elongate), obovate to oblanceolate leaf blades, calyces with membranous walls, thin ribs, and shallowly triangular to broadly ovate lobes, and weakly bilabiate corollas with relatively narrower limbs, usually drying a light color with yellow palate ridges.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 441. FNA vol. 17, p. 443.
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. 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. 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 Mimulus torreyi
Name authority (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012) (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 32. (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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