Flora of North America species comparison

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Diplacus tricolor

Diplacus bigelovii

tricolor monkeyflower

Bigelow mimulus, Bigelow's monkeyflower
Habit Herbs, annual, acaulescent or caulescent. Herbs, annual, herbage usually drying dark.
Stems

erect or ascending, 10–140(–170) mm, densely glandular-puberulent.

erect, (10–)20–250(–320) mm, nodes 3–6, internodes 1–6 mm, glandular-pubescent to glandular-villous.
Leaves

basal densely clustered;

petiole absent;

blade narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, (5–)8–45(–60) × (1–)3–12(–20) mm, margins entire, sometimes toothed, plane, not ciliate, apex obtuse, surfaces glandular-puberulent.

usually cauline, relatively even-sized or reduced distally;

petiole absent, bases of largest leaves often long-tapered to petiole-like extensions;

blade obovate, elliptic, or oblanceolate, (5–)7–35(–50) × (2–)3–18(–26) mm, margins entire, rarely toothed, plane, apex abruptly acuminate, acute-acuminate, or cuspidate to long-tapering or long-acuminate, surfaces glandular-pubescent.
Pedicels

1–3(–5) mm in fruit.

1–4(–8) mm in fruit.
Flowers

1 per node, chasmogamous.

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

usually glandular-puberulent.

glandular-puberulent.
Corollas

tricolored, limb and throat magenta to purple, each lobe with a discrete, dark maroon-purple blotch at base, all 3 blotches of abaxial lip round and not usually extending into throat, palate ridges yellow, flanked with white, sometimes purple-spotted, tube-throat (13–)15–50 mm, limb 7–21 mm diam., bilabiate, lobes equal.

magenta with dark reddish spot on each side of mouth on interior lateral walls of throat, usually with reddish lines extending from throat onto midveins of lobes, throat floor yellow with reddish speckling and variable reddish markings, palate ridges yellow, tube-throat (9–)12–22 mm, limb 12–24 mm diam., not bilabiate.
Calyces

slightly asymmetrically attached to pedicel, not inflated in fruit, (6–)11–23 mm, densely glandular-puberulent, lobes subequal, apex obtuse, ribs often purplish proximally, intercostal areas whitish.

symmetrically attached to pedicels, inflated in fruit, 6–13(–15) mm, glandular-pubescent, tube strongly plicate, lobes slightly recurved, narrowly triangular, subequal, often slightly indurate, apex acuminate to attenuate, ribs broad, darkened, blackish, thickened, strongly raised, intercostal areas whitish, membranous.
Capsules

(2–)3–8(–10) mm, indehiscent.

(6–)7–13(–15) mm.
Anthers

included, with apical tufts of short, eglandular hairs.

included, glabrous, sometimes ciliate.
Stigmas

nearly exserted, lobes subequal.

included, lobes equal.
2n

= 18.

Diplacus tricolor

Diplacus bigelovii
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul(–Aug).
Habitat Vernally flooded depressions in grasslands, low spots and ditches in and around agricultural fields.
Elevation 50–1500 m. (200–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Diplacus tricolor occurs in northwestern and south-central Oregon and from there across a disjunction to central California as far as Kern County.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Diplacus bigelovii is distributed in southeastern California from southern Mono County south to Imperial and San Diego counties through southern Nevada into Washington County, Utah, and La Paz and Mohave counties, Arizona. The relatively sharp line dividing the two varieties roughly follows the Inyo-San Bernardino county line, then cuts across Clark County, Nevada, and Mojave County, Arizona.

Diplacus bigelovii can generally be recognized by its relatively large, nearly radially symmetric corollas, included stigmas, and inflated mature calyces with lobes of unequal length and apices acuminate-attenuate. The two varieties have distinctive leaf shapes; D. M. Thompson (2005) reported them as very closely parapatric and exhibiting limited intergradation near their contiguous occurrence.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blades: distals gradually narrower than proximals, apices long-tapering or long-acuminate; internodes: proximals usually longer than distals.
var. bigelovii
1. Leaf blades: distals usually relatively broader than proximals, apices abruptly acute-acuminate, sometimes cuspidate; internodes usually subequal.
var. cuspidatus
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 447. FNA vol. 17, p. 434.
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. 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. vandenbergensis, D. viscidus
D. angustatus, D. aridus, D. aurantiacus, D. bicolor, 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
Subordinate taxa
D. bigelovii var. bigelovii, D. bigelovii var. cuspidatus
Synonyms Mimulus tricolor Eunanus bigelovii, Mimulus bigelovii
Name authority (Hartweg ex Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 30. (2012) (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 28. (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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