Flora of North America species comparison

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Erythranthe ptilota

Erythranthe caespitosa

musk monkeyflower, musk-flower, sessile-leaf monkey-flower, wing-leaf monkeyflower

large mountain monkey-flower, mountain monkeyflower, Olympic monkeyflower, subalpine monkeyflower
Habit Perennials, rhizomatous, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes. Perennials, rhizomatous, rooting at proximal nodes, sometimes producing creeping, small-leaved runners, forming matted colonies, rhizomes filiform.
Stems

prostrate, sometimes decumbent to ascending, few-branched, 20–80 cm, villous, hairs 1–2 mm, eglandular, sometimes mixed with much shorter stipitate-glandular ones, internodes evident.

procumbent or decumbent to decumbent-ascending, delicate, usually in masses, terete or flattish, branched, 3–10 cm, glabrous, minutely hirtellous, or stipitate-glandular.
Leaves

cauline, basal not persistent, often congested;

petiole 0 mm, rarely 1–2(–3) mm;

blade pinnately veined, oblong-lanceolate, 30–70 × 10–22 mm, base rounded, margins denticulate to dentate, apex acute, surfaces villous, hairs 1–2 mm, eglandular, sometimes mixed with much shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

basal and cauline;

petiole: proximals 2–5 mm, distals 0 mm;

blade often purple beneath, palmately 3-veined, orbicular to narrowly elliptic or ovate, proximals usually sublyrate, 3–12 mm, becoming larger distally, base cuneate to a short petiole, margins entire, mucronulate, or barely denticulate, apex obtuse, surfaces sparsely to moderately puberulent, hairs minute, stipitate-glandular.
Flowers

herkogamous, 4–10, from medial to distal nodes.

herkogamous, 1–3, from distal nodes, commonly solitary.
Styles

glabrous.

minutely hirtellous.
Corollas

yellow, throat with fine blackish or brownish lines on all sides, weakly bilaterally or nearly radially symmetric, weakly bilabiate or nearly regular;

tube-throat narrowly campanulate, 15–18 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

lobe apex rounded.

yellow, dark red-spotted, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate;

tube-throat broadly funnelform to cylindric-funnelform, 15–18 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

abaxial limb with deflexed-spreading lobes, adaxial with ascending lobes, palate partially closed.
Fruiting pedicels

(15–)22–50 mm, villous, hairs 1–2 mm, eglandular, sometimes mixed with much shorter stipitate-glandular ones.

10–30(–40) mm, sparsely to moderately villous, hairs short, gland-tipped, sometimes hirtellous.
Fruiting calyces

wing- or plicate-angled, cylindric-campanulate, weakly inflated, 10–12 mm, villous-glandular, hairs gland-tipped, lobes distinctly spreading, strongly unequal, linear-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, 5–9 mm, apex long acuminate-apiculate.

broadly campanulate, inflated, sagittally compressed, 7–15 mm, glabrous, minutely hirtellous, or stipitate-glandular, throat closing, proximalmost lobe pair upcurving, distalmost 3–5 mm, prominently protruding.
Capsules

included, 6–8 mm.

included, 4–5 mm.
Anthers

included, finely hirtellous to hispidulous.

included, glabrous.

Erythranthe ptilota

Erythranthe caespitosa
Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Creek banks, gravel bars, flood plains, shallow ditches and natural drainages, swales, damp banks, wet sand, moist soils in coniferous woods, marshes, bogs. Alpine meadows and slopes, stream banks, wet rocks in streams, wet crevices, talus.
Elevation 0–1000(–1900) m. (0–3300(–6200) ft.) 1100–2000(–2300) m. (3600–6600(–7500) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Erythranthe ptilota is recognized by its prostrate to decumbent or decumbent-ascending habit, large, consistently sessile leaves, densely villous vestiture, long pedicels, large calyces and corollas, hispid-hirtellous anthers, and particularly by its long, strongly unequal, linear-triangular calyx lobes usually distally falcate. Leaf bases typically are truncate to rounded or subcordate. Rarely the leaves are short-petiolate, but in such cases, the distinctive leaf bases, vestiture, calyx morphology, and pubescent anthers are diagnostic. Erythranthe ptilota is widely sympatric with E. moschata but usually occurs at lower elevations and characteristically in wetter habitats. The epithet ptilota (Greek ptilotos, winged) alludes to a fancied winglike aspect of the pairs of sessile leaves.

A population system of Erythranthe ptilota-like plants occurs in southern California, about 480 km disjunct from the main range of the species. These plants have the prostrate habit, large leaves, long pedicels, and large corollas of E. ptilota, but the calyx lobes are variable in length and usually do not show the characteristic attenuate-apiculate apices. The southern California plants are identified here as E. moschata.

Erythranthe ptilota is a new name at specific rank for Mimulus moschatus var. sessilifolius [not E. sessilifolia (Maximowicz) G. L. Nesom].

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

Erythranthe caespitosa is endemic to northwestern and central Washington (Cascade and Olympic mountains) and adjacent British Columbia (Cascades, Selkirk Mountains and Chilliwack Valley, Coast Mountains). The plants have consistently small leaves with subentire margins, and the stems are consistently procumbent to decumbent-ascending, usually forming matted colonies. Erythranthe caespitosa and E. tilingii appear to be sympatric in counties of northwestern Washington, but this needs to be verified in the field.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 402. FNA vol. 17, p. 409.
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. palmeri, E. pardalis, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. patula, E. percaulis, E. primuloides, 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. 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, E. willisii
Synonyms Mimulus moschatus var. sessilifolius Mimulus scouleri var. caespitosus, M. caespitosus, M. tilingii var. caespitosus
Name authority G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 4. (2017) (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).



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