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 willisii

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

Willis' monkeyflower
Habit Perennials, rhizomatous. Perennials, rhizomatous, rarely rooting at proximal nodes, usually forming large colonies, rhizomes white, usually highly branching.
Stems

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

usually sprawling-decumbent, branched, sometimes simple, 7–45 cm, nodes (2–)4–15+, densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, glandular, internodes evident.
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.

usually cauline, basal not persistent, distinctly separated;

petiole 0 mm, sometimes 1–2 mm at proximal nodes;

blade bicolored, purplish abaxially, pinnately veined, ovate to elliptic-ovate, midcauline 10–35 × 6–18 mm, base rounded to subcordate, margins coarsely serrate-dentate to denticulate or subentire, apex short-attenuate to acute, obtuse, or rounded, surfaces densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, gland-tipped.
Flowers

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

herkogamous, (4–)8–30+, from medial to distal nodes, sometimes from all nodes.
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, throat, tube, and proximal portion of abaxial 3 lobes with fine, red to brownish lines, weakly bilaterally or nearly radially symmetric, weakly bilabiate or nearly regular;

tube-throat narrowly funnelform, 12–15 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb 9–12 mm wide (pressed), lobes oblong-obovate, apex rounded to notched.
Fruiting pedicels

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

4–20(–25) mm, densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, gland-tipped.
Fruiting calyces

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

ridge- to wing-angled, campanulate to cylindric-campanulate, weakly inflated, 7–10 mm, densely glandular-villous, lobes erect to slightly spreading, unequal, triangular to linear-lanceolate, 2–4 mm, apex acuminate-apiculate.
Capsules

included, 6–11 mm.

included, 4–5 mm.
Anthers

included, white-villous, thecae spreading.

included, glabrous or finely hirtellous to scabrous.
2n

= 16.

Erythranthe lewisii

Erythranthe willisii
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Stream banks, springs, wet meadows, subalpine slopes, talus, crevices, ditches. Seepage, drainage margins, moist soils, talus, cracks and crevices, soils deprived from serpentine.
Elevation 600–2900(–3200) m. (2000–9500(–10500) ft.) (500–)700–900 m. ((1600–)2300–3000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
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 willisii is narrowly endemic over serpentine along the North Fork Feather River (including the North Branch) in Plumas County. In the original description, its range was said to include serpentine localities in closely adjacent areas of east-central Butte, Plumas, and northwestern Yuba counties, but subsequent field work has shown that these peripheral populations are E. moschata, and that E. willisii occurs only in the bottom of the Serpentine Canyon area. The most consistent and recognizable features of E. willisii are the long, sprawling stems often spread over a large area, sometimes reaching at least 45 cm and often with many crowded nodes, sessile or subsessile leaves with rounded to subcordate bases, and short pedicels, characteristically no longer than the subtending leaves (except sometimes the distal ones where subtending leaves are distinctly reduced in size). It is possible that stem growth in E. willisii is indeterminate versus determinate in E. moschata. Sessile to subsessile leaves occur in E. moschata, especially in the California Sierra Nevada, but petiole length and leaf base shape are variable within populations; lack of petioles and a rounded/subcordate base are fixed characters in E. willisii (as they are also in E. ptilota). Although large colonies of E. moschata are sometimes encountered, the individual plants tend to be erect (in California) and with few distal flowers. In the field, the dense vestiture of E. willisii is a prominent feature, but this is harder to distinguish in pressed specimens, and there is a strong tendency for purple abaxial leaf coloration in E. willisii. Phenology and flower morphology of E. willisii and E. moschata appear to be similar, but E. moschata in north-central California does not occur at as low elevations as E. willisii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 392. FNA vol. 17, p. 401.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms Mimulus lewisii, M. lewisii var. tetonensis
Name authority (Pursh) G. L. Nesom & N. S. Fraga: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 36. (2012) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 7, figs. 14–22. (2017)
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