The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

tricolor monkeyflower

least flower monkey flower, least monkeyflower, slender monkeyflower

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

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

erect to ascending, 10–140 mm, glandular-puberulent to short 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;

petiole absent;

blade oblanceolate to linear, (5–)6–24(–34) × (0.5–)1–4(–7.5) mm, margins entire, plane, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glandular-puberulent.

Pedicels

1–3(–5) mm in fruit.

1(–3) 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.

sparsely 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, sometimes white, throat whitish, often speckled with dark spots, palate ridges weak, whitish to pinkish, tube-throat 6–8 mm, limb 3–5 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, not inflated in fruit, (2.5–)3–5.5(–6.5) mm, glandular-puberulent, lobes subequal, apex acute, ribs darkened, blackish, intercostal areas purplish.

Capsules

(2–)3–8(–10) mm, indehiscent.

(3–)4–6(–6.5) mm.

Anthers

included, with apical tufts of short, eglandular hairs.

included, glabrous.

Stigmas

nearly exserted, lobes subequal.

included, lobes unequal, abaxial nearly 2 times adaxial.

2n

= 18.

= 16.

Diplacus tricolor

Diplacus leptaleus

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul(–Aug). Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Vernally flooded depressions in grasslands, low spots and ditches in and around agricultural fields. Developing granitic soils, boulders of granite outcrops, disturbed areas, water runoff areas.
Elevation 50–1500 m. (200–4900 ft.) (1800–)2100–3400 m. ((5900–)6900–11200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[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.)

Diplacus leptaleus occurs in the Sierra Nevada from Nevada County south to Tulare County, California, and in southern Washoe County, Nevada. Diplacus leptaleus is the only species of Diplacus that commonly produces white flowers. Populations rarely are fixed for white corollas; they are commonly fixed for magenta corollas, especially at higher elevations (D. M. Thompson 2005).

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 447. FNA vol. 17, p. 438.
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. 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. 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 Mimulus leptaleus
Name authority (Hartweg ex Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 30. (2012) (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 29. (2012)
Web links