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

disappearing monkey-flower, ephemeral monkeyflower

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 ascending, straight or geniculate at nodes, simple or branched at proximal and medial nodes, 6–20(–25) cm, minutely stipitate-glandular, hairs 0.1–0.3 mm, gland-tipped.

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.

usually cauline, basal usually deciduous by flowering;

petiole: proximals 1–3 mm, distals 0 mm;

blade palmately 3–5-veined, narrowly ovate or narrowly lanceolate to elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, largest 8–18(–30) × (1–)3–7 mm, relatively even-sized, or slightly reduced distally, base attenuate to obtuse or rounded, margins entire, mucronulate, or denticulate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces minutely stipitate-glandular, hairs 0.1–0.3 mm, gland-tipped.

Flowers

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

plesiogamous, 10–20, from medial 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 to pale yellow, sparsely red-spotted or not, bilaterally symmetric, weakly bilabiate;

tube-throat cylindric, 5–8 mm, exserted 1–3 mm beyond calyx margin;

limb barely widened, lobes broadly obovate, apex rounded or mucronate.

Fruiting pedicels

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

straight, 7–18 mm, minutely stipitate-glandular, hairs 0.1–0.3 mm, gland-tipped.

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.

winged, plicate-angled, maturing ovoid-ellipsoid to campanulate or broadly urceolate, distinctly inflated, 7–11 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, sparsely, minutely hirtellous, eglandular, lobes pronounced, erect.

Capsules

included, 6–8 mm.

included, 5–9 mm.

Anthers

included, finely hirtellous to hispidulous.

included, glabrous.

Erythranthe ptilota

Erythranthe inflatula

Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Creek banks, gravel bars, flood plains, shallow ditches and natural drainages, swales, damp banks, wet sand, moist soils in coniferous woods, marshes, bogs. Drying edges, banks, and beds of summer-dry watercourses, near drying edges of small lakes or impoundments, often among rocks and shoreline detritus, occasionally in moist protected areas beneath low shrubs.
Elevation 0–1000(–1900) m. (0–3300(–6200) ft.) 1200–1700 m. (3900–5600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR
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.)

No natural occurrences of Erythranthe inflatula are known from Washington; the type collection from Klickitat County is from a cultivated plant.

Morphological and molecular data (R. J. Meinke 1995; P. M. Beardsley et al. 2004) indicate that Erythranthe inflatula originated as a hybrid between E. breviflora and E. latidens. Its geography and biology suggest that it is reproductively stable. The putative parents are geographically and ecologically separated for most of their ranges, and the range of E. inflatula is considerably broader than the relatively small region where the parents are sympatric. In the region of sympatry, however, E. inflatula may be difficult to distinguish from one or both of its putative parents. G. L. Nesom (2012g) was not able to find morphology that would distinguish the recently described Mimulus evanescens from E. inflatula.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 402. FNA vol. 17, p. 400.
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. 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. 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 inflatulus, M. evanescens
Name authority G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 4. (2017) (Suksdorf) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 38. (2012)
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