Flora of North America species comparison

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Erythranthe microphylla

Erythranthe cardinalis

Bentham's monkeyflower, small-leaf monkey-flower

cardinal monkey flower, scarlet monkey-flower
Habit Annuals, fibrous-rooted. Perennials, rhizomatous.
Stems

erect, simple, sometimes many-branched from basal cauline nodes, terete, sometimes distinctly 4-angled, (3–)5–30(–45) cm, glabrous below inflorescence, sometimes distals hirtellous, hairs commonly deflexed, or mixed hirtellous and stipitate-glandular, sometimes only short villous-glandular, hairs gland-tipped.

usually erect to ascending, freely branched, 25–75 cm, ± glandular-villous or glabrate.
Leaves

basal and cauline, basal sometimes absent at flowering;

petiole: basal or proximals to medials 3–25(–35) mm, distals 0 mm (then blade subclasping to narrowly perfoliate);

blade often purplish, palmately 3–5-veined, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-ovate, suborbicular, or depressed-ovate, (3–)10–35 × 3–25 mm, base rounded to truncate or subcordate, margins shallowly crenate to sharply crenate-serrate, teeth 5–10 per side, basal and proximal often irregularly incised near petiole and sublyrate, apex acute to obtuse-rounded, surfaces glabrous or sparsely to moderately hirtellous, eglandular.

usually cauline;

petiole 0 mm;

blade palmately veined, elliptic-ovate to ovate or obovate, 20–90(–110) × 10–38(–60) mm, thick, base acuminate, subclasping, margins irregularly serrate to dentate, apex acute, surfaces ± glandular-villous to glabrate.
Flowers

herkogamous, 1–8(–14), usually from distal nodes, chasmogamous.

herkogamous, 2–12, axillary at leafy medial to distal nodes.
Styles

sparsely hirtellous.

glabrous.
Corollas

yellow to golden yellow or orangish yellow, usually red-spotted, abaxial limb sometimes with a large red splotch, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate;

tube-throat broadly funnelform, (6–)8–16(–20) mm, exserted (1–)2–6(–8) mm beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 8–25 mm, palate villous.

scarlet to orange-red, rarely yellow, throat yellowish, red-striped, palate red, yellow-villous, not spotted or striped, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate;

tube-throat funnelform, (15–)20–30 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

throat open.
Fruiting pedicels

8–30(–50) mm, distals hirtellous, hairs commonly deflexed, or mixed hirtellous and stipitate-glandular, sometimes only short villous-glandular, hairs gland-tipped.

30–90(–120) mm.
Fruiting calyces

nodding 30–90º, sometimes red-tinged or -dotted, ovoid-campanulate to broadly cylindric-campanulate, inflated, sagittally compressed, (7–)9–16(–20) mm, minutely hirtellous, hairs sometimes reduced to basal cells, or glabrous, throat strongly to weakly closing.

cylindric to cylindric-campanulate, not inflated, 17–28(–30) mm, hispid-hirsute to hirsute, lobes 4–7 mm, ovate to ovate-deltate, apex attenuate-acute.
Capsules

included, 6–9(–11) mm.

included, 10–16 mm.
Anthers

included, glabrous.

exserted, white-villous, thecae spreading.
2n

= 28, 56.

= 16.

Erythranthe microphylla

Erythranthe cardinalis
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Rock depressions, rocky ridges, cliff faces, roadcuts, wet meadows, seeps, stream banks, drying ponds, ephemeral stream channels, vernal springs over serpentine, roadsides and roadside ditches, dry banks, lava soils, loam, clay, gravel, yellow pine, oak-pine, mixed oak woodlands, oak-chaparral. Moist to wet places along streams, lakes, creek beds, canyon, arroyo, and ravine bottoms, around springs and seepage areas, flood plains, moist clearings and woods edges.
Elevation 20–1700(–2600) m. (100–5600(–8500) ft.) (5–)50–2300(–2800) m. ((0–)200–7500(–9200) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Erythranthe microphylla is characterized by its annual duration (fibrous-rooted), usually simple stems, relatively widely spaced leaves, glabrous or hirtellous vestiture, open corollas, and calyces closing at the throat. Even in the smallest corollas, the stigma is positioned above the adaxial anther pair, indicating that all are primarily allogamous. Some plants have basal and proximal cauline leaves with exaggeratedly and irregularly toothed-incised margins (especially in Lake and Napa counties, California, as in the types of Mimulus glareosus and M. guttatus var. insignis, respectively), but a similar tendency can be seen over most of the geographic range. Plants of E. microphylla vary greatly in height, leaf size, and flower size (the larger flowers approaching the size of those in E. grandis and E. decora), yet all seem to be within the expression of a single species.

An inversion sequence of chromosome 8 (the DIV1 region) is perfectly correlated with the life history features of at least four species of sect. Simiolus (D. B. Lowry and J. H. Willis 2010). One sequence occurs in Erythranthe guttata and E. grandis, which are perennial and rhizomatous, occur in habitats with year-round moisture, and flower relatively late in the season, while the opposite sequence occurs in E. nasuta and E. microphylla, which are annual and slender-taprooted or fibrous-rooted, occur in quickly drying habitats, and flower in early season. The inversion, with its tightly linked, locally adaptive alleles, contributes to isolating mechanisms between species with contrasting sequences and preserves the constellation of features that makes each a recognizable entity.

Hybridization and apparent introgression occur among Erythranthe guttata, E. microphylla, and E. nasuta, yet each remains distinct in duration, perennating morphology, and habit. Erythranthe arvensis (annual) also is a member of this gene-sharing group. A whole-genome analysis by A. D. Twyford and J. Friedman (2015) showed that populations of E. guttata and E. microphylla cluster together within each of several geographically delimited regions; they interpreted their trees as showing phylogenetic relationships and concluded that E. guttata and E. microphylla are conspecific. Other evidence (G. L. Nesom 2014c, 2014d), particularly the DIV1 inversion sequence, indicates that E. guttata and E. grandis are most closely related to each other and were derived from an ancestor of annual duration. Thus, E. microphylla and E. nasuta are morphologically and phylogenetically distinct from E. guttata, despite extensive gene flow where they are sympatric with it.

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

Yellow-flowered populations of Erythranthe cardinalis occur on Cedros Island, Baja California, and in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon (R. K. Vickery 1992). They have been documented also on Santa Cruz Island, California.

Populations of Erythranthe cardinalis in King and Yakima counties, Washington, are introduced and naturalized.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 415. FNA vol. 17, p. 393.
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. lewisii, E. linearifolia, E. marmorata, E. michiganensis, 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. 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, E. willisii
Synonyms Mimulus microphyllus, M. glareosus, M. guttatus var. depauperatus, M. guttatus var. insignis, M. guttatus var. microphyllus, M. guttatus var. platycalyx, M. langsdorffii var. insignis, M. langsdorffii var. microphyllus, M. luteus var. depauperatus, M. nasutus var. insignis, M. platycalyx Mimulus cardinalis, M. cardinalis var. exsul, M. cardinalis var. griseus, M. cardinalis var. rigens
Name authority (Bentham) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 44. (2012) (Douglas ex Bentham) Spach: Hist. Nat. Vég. 9: 313. (1840)
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).



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