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tricolor monkeyflower

Kaweah River bush monkeyflower, rock bush monkeyflower

Habit Herbs, annual, acaulescent or caulescent. Subshrubs.
Stems

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

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

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(–5) mm in fruit.

3–5 mm in fruit.

Flowers

1 per node, chasmogamous.

2 per node, chasmogamous.

Styles

usually glandular-puberulent.

minutely glandular.

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.

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

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.

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

(2–)3–8(–10) mm, indehiscent.

25–35 mm.

Anthers

included, with apical tufts of short, eglandular hairs.

exserted, glabrous.

Stigmas

nearly exserted, lobes subequal.

exserted, lobes equal.

2n

= 18.

= 20.

Diplacus tricolor

Diplacus calycinus

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul(–Aug). Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Vernally flooded depressions in grasslands, low spots and ditches in and around agricultural fields. Granite outcrops, boulders, rocky gullies.
Elevation 50–1500 m. (200–4900 ft.) (300–)700–2200 m. ((1000–)2300–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county 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.)

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. 447. 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. 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. 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 tricolor D. longiflorus var. calycinus, Mimulus longiflorus subsp. calycinus, M. longiflorus var. calycinus
Name authority (Hartweg ex Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 30. (2012) Eastwood: Bot. Gaz. 41: 287. (1906)
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