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small-flower monkeyflower

little purple monkeyflower, purple monkeyflower

Habit Annuals, fibrous-rooted. Annuals, taprooted.
Stems

erect to ascending, simple or branched from base, 4-angled, 3–16 cm, glabrous.

erect, simple or branched from basal nodes, 3–10 cm, minutely puberulent.

Leaves

basal and cauline;

petiole: proximals 1–5 mm, mid cauline and distals 0 mm;

blade palmately 3-veined, broadly elliptic to ovate or broadly ovate, 6–20 × 6–12 mm, base rounded to cordate, margins subentire to denticulate, apex obtuse to acute or acuminate, surfaces sparsely villous.

cauline, basal not persistent;

petiole 0 mm;

blade palmately 3–5-veined, elliptic to lanceolate, 4–15 × 1–5 mm, base truncate to truncate-cordate, clasping, margins entire, sometimes toothed, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces minutely puberulent.

Flowers

plesiogamous, 1–12, from proximal to distal nodes.

herkogamous, 1–22, from distal or medial to distal nodes.

Styles

glabrous.

glabrous.

Corollas

pale pink to rose pink or purple to magenta, throat sometimes yellow, lobes sometimes yellowish with pale rose spots, bilaterally symmetric, weakly bilabiate;

tube-throat cylindric, 5–9 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 5–6 mm.

pink to purple, adaxial limb darker than abaxial, abaxial limb with yellow markings, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate;

tube-throat cylindric to funnelform, 7–13 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 7–10 mm, bilabiate, 3 abaxial lobes notched, 2 adaxial nearly entire, abaxial limb sparsely bearded.

Fruiting pedicels

5–15 mm, glabrous.

ascending to often spreading horizontally, 13–57(–70) mm.

Fruiting calyces

campanulate, 6–9 mm, margins subtruncate, glabrous, lobes reduced, subequal.

becoming reddish, campanulate, 3–8 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, minutely puberulent, ribs thickened, lobes pronounced, erect, margins glabrous.

Capsules

included, 4–9 mm.

included, 3–8 mm.

Anthers

included, minutely villous-hirsute.

included, glabrous.

Erythranthe inconspicua

Erythranthe purpurea

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun(–Jul). Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Steep, north- or northwest-facing slopes, canyon walls, moist talus, granitic sand on outcrops, moist gravelly open spots, sandy lakeshores, hillside streams or seeps, riparian woodlands, grassy slopes, gray pine, yellow pine, yellow pine-Kellogg oak, chaparral, Pseudotsuga-Pinus-Cornus, canyon live oak woodlands. Moist openings along streams, swales, and depressions, pine duff in yellow pine forests, margins of dry meadows.
Elevation 200–2100 m. (700–6900 ft.) 1900–2800 m. (6200–9200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Erythranthe inconspicua occurs in Sierran counties from Kern north to El Dorado and then is apparently disjunct further northward to Butte County. A record from Los Angeles County (Bigelow s.n., 14 May 1854, the type of the species) is probably mislabeled, as other collections by Bigelow on the same day are from Calaveras County.

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

Erythranthe purpurea is restricted to the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County and is disjunct in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir in Baja California, Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 382. FNA vol. 17, p. 388.
Parent taxa Phrymaceae > Erythranthe Phrymaceae > Erythranthe
Sibling taxa
E. acutidens, E. alsinoides, E. ampliata, E. androsacea, E. arenaria, E. arenicola, E. arvensis, E. barbata, E. bicolor, E. brachystylis, E. breviflora, E. breweri, E. caespitosa, E. calcicola, E. calciphila, E. cardinalis, E. carsonensis, E. charlestonensis, E. chinatiensis, E. cinnabarina, E. corallina, E. cordata, E. decora, E. dentata, E. diffusa, E. discolor, E. eastwoodiae, E. erubescens, E. exigua, E. filicaulis, E. filicifolia, E. floribunda, E. gemmipara, E. geniculata, E. geyeri, E. glaucescens, E. gracilipes, E. grandis, E. grayi, E. guttata, E. hallii, E. hardhamiae, E. hymenophylla, E. inamoena, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. laciniata, E. latidens, E. lewisii, E. linearifolia, E. marmorata, E. michiganensis, E. microphylla, E. minor, E. montioides, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. norrisii, E. nudata, E. palmeri, E. pardalis, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. patula, E. percaulis, E. primuloides, E. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. purpurea, E. regni, E. rhodopetra, E. rubella, E. scouleri, E. shevockii, E. sierrae, E. suksdorfii, E. taylorii, E. thermalis, E. tilingii, E. trinitiensis, E. unimaculata, E. utahensis, E. verbenacea, E. washingtonensis, E. willisii
E. acutidens, E. alsinoides, E. ampliata, E. androsacea, E. arenaria, E. arenicola, E. arvensis, E. barbata, E. bicolor, E. brachystylis, E. breviflora, E. breweri, E. caespitosa, E. calcicola, E. calciphila, E. cardinalis, E. carsonensis, E. charlestonensis, E. chinatiensis, E. cinnabarina, E. corallina, E. cordata, E. decora, E. dentata, E. diffusa, E. discolor, E. eastwoodiae, E. erubescens, E. exigua, E. filicaulis, E. filicifolia, E. floribunda, E. gemmipara, E. geniculata, E. geyeri, E. glaucescens, E. gracilipes, E. grandis, E. grayi, E. guttata, E. hallii, E. hardhamiae, E. hymenophylla, E. inamoena, E. inconspicua, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. laciniata, E. latidens, E. lewisii, E. linearifolia, E. marmorata, E. michiganensis, E. microphylla, E. minor, E. montioides, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. norrisii, E. nudata, E. palmeri, E. pardalis, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. patula, E. percaulis, E. primuloides, E. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. regni, E. rhodopetra, E. rubella, E. scouleri, E. shevockii, E. sierrae, E. suksdorfii, E. taylorii, E. thermalis, E. tilingii, E. trinitiensis, E. unimaculata, E. utahensis, E. verbenacea, E. washingtonensis, E. willisii
Synonyms Mimulus inconspicuus Mimulus purpureus, M. purpureus var. pauxillus
Name authority (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 34. (2012) (A. L. Grant) N. S. Fraga: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 35. (2012)
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