Flora of North America species comparison

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

Erythranthe lewisii

Erythranthe cordata

great purple monkey-flower, great purple or Lewis' monkeyflower, Lewis' monkey flower, pink monkey-flower, purple monkey-flower

tinytooter monkeyflower
Habit Perennials, rhizomatous. Annuals, fibrous-rooted, sometimes producing leafy runners from basal nodes, stems often rooting at proximal nodes and appearing rhizomelike.
Stems

erect, usually simple, (15–)25–60(–75) cm, stipitate-glandular to glandular-villous.

usually erect, usually simple, usually fistulose, 12–40(–100) cm, sparsely stipitate-glandular, hairs fine, gland-tipped.
Leaves

cauline;

petiole 0 mm;

blade palmately veined, elliptic to ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or broadly oblanceolate, (10–)25–75(–90) × 5–35 mm, base rounded to cuneate, subclasping, margins denticulate, subentire, or entire, apex acute, surfaces stipitate-glandular to glandular-villous.

basal and cauline, basal persistent;

petiole: basal and proximals 6–20(–40) mm, midcauline to distals 0 mm;

blade not connate, palmately 3–5(–7)-veined, orbicular to broadly elliptic-ovate or oblong-elliptic, cauline becoming broadly ovate to narrowly reniform, basal and mid cauline 15–30(–50) mm, gradually reduced in size distally to 6 mm, basal largest, distal closely paired, auriculate-subclasping, base cuneate to truncate or shallowly cordate, margins shallowly, evenly to unevenly dentate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous.
Flowers

herkogamous, 2–6(–10), axillary at leafy medial to distal nodes.

plesiogamous, (5–)10–16, at distal nodes, in bracteate racemes, chasmogamous or cleistogamous.
Styles

glabrous.

glabrous.
Corollas

purple, rarely crimson, pale violet, white, pinkish white, yellowish white, or lavender, sometimes lined with red dots, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate;

tube-throat funnelform, 22–28 mm, exserted beyond calyx margins;

lobe apex usually truncate to shallowly convex, shallowly retuse, throat open.

yellow, red-spotted, abaxial limb deeper yellow, weakly bilaterally or radially symmetric, weakly bilabiate or regular;

tube-throat sometimes tubular and not opening (cleistogamous), 8–14 mm, exserted 1–3 mm beyond calyx margin;

limb not expanded or expanded 9–14 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

(25–)35–70 mm, stipitate-glandular to glandular-villous.

10–30(–45) mm, longer than subtending leaves, minutely stipitate-glandular.
Fruiting calyces

broadly cylindric-campanulate, not inflated, 15–22 mm, stipitate-glandular to glandular-villous, tube 12–15(–17) × 9–12 mm.

nodding 45–90º, not red-dotted, broadly elliptic-ovoid, inflated, sagittally compressed, (8–)14–18(–20) mm, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular to hirsutulous, sometimes mixed glandular-hirsutulous, throat closing, adaxial lobe not distinctly longer than abaxial, not falcate.
Capsules

included, 6–11 mm.

included, stipitate, 5–7 mm.
Anthers

included, white-villous, thecae spreading.

included, glabrous.
2n

= 16.

= 60.

Erythranthe lewisii

Erythranthe cordata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jun(–Nov).
Habitat Stream banks, springs, wet meadows, subalpine slopes, talus, crevices, ditches. Springs, seeps, stream edges, muddy banks, flood plains, marshes and swamps, wash bottoms, wet depressions, wet places among boulders.
Elevation 600–2900(–3200) m. (2000–9500(–10500) ft.) (600–)800–2400(–3000) m. ((2000–)2600–7900(–9800) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; TX; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Erythranthe lewisii in California occurs in Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties. California records from Shasta County and south previously identified as E. lewisii are identified here as E. erubescens. The record for E. lewisii in Alaska is documented by this collection: Hyder [noted on handwritten label as "New to Alaska, Standley"], damp land, 27 June 1924, K. Whited 1291 (MO).

Apparent exceptions to the characteristic flower color are these: white to lavender in Nevada (Clark County, Charleston Mountains, Train 2068, MO); pinkish white in Washington (Skamania and Yakima counties, Mt. Paddo, Suksdorf 5779, MO); white or tinged with yellow, in Wyoming (Teton County, as described by Nelson in the protologue of Mimulus lewisii var. tetonensis).

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

Erythranthe cordata is characterized by its fibrous-rooted habit (annual in duration, without rhizomes but commonly rooting at the proximal nodes), short corollas and autogamous reproduction (anthers and stigma at the same level), closed calyces, sparsely villous-glandular vestiture (lacking hirtellous, eglandular hairs), and stems commonly fistulose in larger plants. The short corollas and other features of autogamous reproduction of E. cordata are diagnostic and prominent. Plants of E. cordata are highly variable in size, from tiny fibrous-rooted plants with nearly filiform stems to much larger individuals with fistulose stems rooting at proximal nodes.

Erythranthe cordata and E. nasuta are sympatric in Arizona, southeastern New Mexico, and southern Utah, and small plants of each species may be similar in aspect, both with cleistogamous flowers and reduced vestiture. Erythranthe nasuta can be recognized by its distal and bracteal leaves with hirtellous to hirsutulous adaxial surfaces; a 10/x lens usually is required to see this feature, and it sometimes is most obvious around the leaf margins.

The common name of Erythranthe cordata alludes to a fancied resemblance of the corollas to the horn of a diminutive trumpet.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 392. FNA vol. 17, p. 422.
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. inconspicua, E. inflatula, E. jungermannioides, E. laciniata, E. latidens, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Mimulus lewisii, M. lewisii var. tetonensis Mimulus cordatus, M. maguirei
Name authority (Pursh) G. L. Nesom & N. S. Fraga: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 36. (2012) (Greene) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 43. (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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers