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 ptilota

Erythranthe floribunda

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

many-flower monkey-flower, purple-stem monkey-flower
Habit Perennials, rhizomatous, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes. Annuals, fibrous-rooted or filiform-taprooted.
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.

erect to decumbent, sometimes procumbent-trailing, straight or geniculate at nodes, simple or many-branched, 3–22(–40) cm, villous-glandular, hairs greatly variable in length and density, gland-tipped, sometimes 0.2–0.5 mm, sparsely 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.

cauline, basal mostly deciduous by flowering;

petiole 1–12 mm;

blade pinnately to subpalmately veined, ovate, (3–)8–25(–35) × (1–)5–18(–26) mm, base cuneate to truncate or cordate, margins serrate to sparsely dentate, apex acute, surfaces villous-glandular, hairs greatly variable in length and density, gland-tipped, sometimes 0.2–0.5 mm, sparsely stipitate-glandular.
Flowers

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

plesiogamous, 1–20, from proximal to distal nodes.
Styles

glabrous.

glabrous.
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, abaxial limb red-dotted, bilaterally symmetric, weakly bilabiate;

tube-throat funnelform-cylindric, (4–)5–10 mm, exserted slightly beyond calyx margin or not;

limb expanded 3–4 mm diam., lobes usually oblong, apex notched.
Fruiting pedicels

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

5–20(–26) mm, villous-glandular, hairs greatly variable in length and density, gland-tipped, sometimes 0.2–0.5 mm, sparsely stipitate-glandular.
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.

greenish or purplish to red-dotted, cylindric, ± inflated, 4–7 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, villous-glandular, lobes pronounced, erect.
Capsules

included, 6–8 mm.

included, 4–7 mm.
Anthers

included, finely hirtellous to hispidulous.

included, glabrous.
2n

= 32.

Erythranthe ptilota

Erythranthe floribunda
Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug. Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–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. Under overhangs, moist roofs of caves, wet rock crevices, cliff faces, wet cliff bases, below waterfalls, seeps, springs, humus and moist soils over rocks and slabs, moist slopes, ditches and pond edges, wet edges of creeks and rivers, drying mud on margins of wetland depressions, creek beds, wet or swampy meadows, along trails, in lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, ponderosa pine-Douglas fir, and spruce-fir woodlands.
Elevation 0–1000(–1900) m. (0–3300(–6200) ft.) (100–)1800–2600(–3100) m. ((300–)5900–8500(–10200) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora)
[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.)

Some plants identified here as Erythranthe floribunda in Arizona and southwestern New Mexico are distinctive in their prominently inflated calyces, sessile to subsessile leaves with attenuate bases and palmately three- to five-veined venation, and much-elongated pedicels (20–43 mm); numerous intermediates in Arizona make it difficult to conclude that the variants represent an entity discontinuous from plants of typical morphology. The variant morphology has not been observed among Mexican populations. Further discussion of this situation was given by G. L. Nesom (2012h).

Erythranthe floribunda has been documented from 12 counties in northern Arkansas (Carroll, Cleburne, Crawford, Franklin, Izard, Johnson, Logan, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Stone, and Washington), where it occurs at 300–500 m. The unpublished name Mimulus floribundus subsp. moorei Iltis appears in various checklists in reference to the Arkansas plants, but there appears to be no basis for treating them as distinct from the rest of the species. Elsewhere in the main range (western states), scattered variants extremely reduced in size, leaves, flowers, and overall stature appear to be at the lower limits of the species rather than taxonomically distinct.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 402. FNA vol. 17, p. 404.
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. 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. 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 floribundus, M. deltoideus, M. floribundus var. membranaceus, M. membranaceus, M. peduncularis, M. serotinus
Name authority G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 4. (2017) (Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 38. (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