The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

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

red rock canyon monkeyflower

Habit Perennials, rhizomatous, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes. Annuals, 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, simple or branched from basal nodes, 6–7(–21) cm, minutely puberulent.

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 not persistent;

petiole 0 mm;

blade palmately 3-veined, linear to oblanceolate, 5–22 × 1–7(–10) mm, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces minutely puberulent.

Flowers

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

herkogamous, 1–46, from distal or 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.

pale pink to pink, throat broad, yellow, palate with a broad yellow patch covering ridges and lateral areas, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate;

tube-throat cylindric to funnelform, 9–15 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 16–25 mm, lobes notched, abaxial limb glabrous or sparsely bearded.

Fruiting pedicels

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

erect to ascending, 10–33(–40) mm.

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.

becoming reddish, campanulate to cylindric, 5–10 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, minutely puberulent, ribs thickened, lobes pronounced, erect, margins glabrous.

Capsules

included, 6–8 mm.

included, 4–9 mm.

Anthers

included, finely hirtellous to hispidulous.

included, glabrous.

Erythranthe ptilota

Erythranthe rhodopetra

Phenology Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug. Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Creek banks, gravel bars, flood plains, shallow ditches and natural drainages, swales, damp banks, wet sand, moist soils in coniferous woods, marshes, bogs. Washes in Mojave Desert scrub.
Elevation 0–1000(–1900) m. (0–3300(–6200) ft.) 600–900 m. (2000–3000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
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 rhodopetra is endemic to the El Paso Mountains in Kern County. The species was treated previously as part of E. palmeri but is distinguished by having a wider limb (16–25 mm) than E. palmeri (8–15 mm) and pale pink flowers with a broad yellow palate and orifice. In contrast, E. palmeri has deep pink corollas with two yellow ridges on the palate.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 402. FNA vol. 17, p. 387.
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. 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. 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
Name authority G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 4. (2017) N. S. Fraga: Aliso 30: 66, figs. 26–28. (2012)
Web links