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Palmer's monkeyflower

Rocky Mountain or petiole-purse monkeyflower

Habit Annuals, taprooted. Annuals, taprooted.
Stems

erect, simple or branched from basal nodes, 4–17 cm, minutely puberulent.

erect, straight at nodes, simple, 1–10 cm, glabrous.

Leaves

cauline, basal not persistent;

petiole 0 mm;

blade pinnately veined, palmately 3-veined (in broader ones), linear to oblanceolate, (3–)4–17 × 1–4 mm, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces minutely puberulent.

cauline;

petiole 2–3 mm, laterally compressed, base deeply saccate, usually containing a lenticular propagule;

blade emerging from bulbils, palmately veined, elliptic-ovate to ovate, 2–8(–10) × 2–5(–7) mm, base truncate to shallowly cordate, margins entire or remotely denticulate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous.

Flowers

herkogamous, 1–36, from distal or medial to distal nodes.

herkogamous, (1 or)2–12, from medial or medial to distal nodes.

Styles

glabrous.

glabrous.

Corollas

pink to purple, abaxial limb with 2 yellow ridges, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate;

tube-throat funnelform, 6–15 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 8–15 mm, lobes deeply notched, abaxial limb sparsely bearded.

yellow, palate yellow, not spotted or striped, bilaterally symmetric, weakly bilabiate;

tube-throat broadly cylindric-funnelform, 3–4 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

lobes subequal, oblong-obovate, throat open, palate puberulent, abaxial ridges low.

Fruiting pedicels

spreading horizontally, 5–33 mm.

4–6 mm, slightly longer than calyx, glabrous.

Fruiting calyces

sometimes red-spotted on ribs, becoming straw colored, cylindric, 4–8 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, glabrous, ribs weak, lobes pronounced, erect, margins ciliate.

strongly angled, subcampanulate, weakly inflated, 3–4 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, glabrous, lobes pronounced, erect, incurved-triangular.

Capsules

included, 4–8 mm.

unknown.

Anthers

included, glabrous.

included, glabrous.

2n

= 16.

Erythranthe palmeri

Erythranthe gemmipara

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Jul–Aug(–Sep).
Habitat Moist areas in openings in pine forest and desert chaparral transitions. Granitic seeps, thin soils over bedrock cliff bases, crevices, ledges, talus, among rocks and boulders, Douglas fir, spruce-fir, and aspen forests.
Elevation 900–2200 m. (3000–7200 ft.) 2600–3700 m. (8500–12100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CO
Discussion

Erythranthe palmeri has been confused with other closely related species, including E. diffusa, E. discolor (pink form), E. rhodopetra, and E. sierrae. It was previously thought to be a widely distributed species because of this taxonomic confusion but now is regarded as endemic to the Transverse Range in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains.

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

Erythranthe gemmipara is known only from Grand, Jefferson, Larimer, and Park counties in north-central Colorado. Flowers in this species are uncommon, and seed set has not been observed in natural populations; reproduction in nature appears to be solely asexual via overwintering propagules (bulbils) formed in leaf axils. Two meristems are initiated in each axil. The proximal meristem produces a pair of starch-thickened storage leaves, a rudimentary axis, and a distal pair of preformed leaf primordia that enclose the shoot apical meristem. Root primordia are present within the first node of the bulbil. The petiole of the subtending leaf expands laterally and folds adaxially to enclose the developing bulbil, and entangled trichomes along the petiole margins secure it following leaf abscission and dispersal. The leaf blades commonly are deciduous, leaving the bulbil still attached (M. R. Beardsley 1997).

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 387. FNA vol. 17, p. 395.
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. microphylla, E. minor, E. montioides, E. moschata, E. nasuta, E. norrisii, E. nudata, 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. 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 palmeri Mimulus gemmiparus
Name authority (A. Gray) N. S. Fraga: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 35. (2012) (W. A. Weber) G. L. Nesom & N. S. Fraga: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 37. (2012)
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