Flora of North America species comparison

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Erythranthe tilingii

Erythranthe willisii

larger mountain monkeyflower, mountain monkey-flower, Tiling's monkey-flower

Willis' monkeyflower
Habit Perennials, rhizomatous, solitary to weakly colonial, rhizomes forming a mass, yellowish, branching, filiform. Perennials, rhizomatous, rarely rooting at proximal nodes, usually forming large colonies, rhizomes white, usually highly branching.
Stems

erect-ascending, usually freely branched, 2–35 cm, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular to short glandular-villous.

usually sprawling-decumbent, branched, sometimes simple, 7–45 cm, nodes (2–)4–15+, densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, glandular, internodes evident.
Leaves

cauline;

petiole 0–25 mm, distals 0 mm;

blade palmately 3–5-veined, ovate to lanceolate-triangular or narrowly lanceolate (broadly ovate in large-leaved forms), 5–35(–55) mm, base cuneate to attenuate, margins irregularly denticulate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrous, sparsely stipitate-glandular to short glandular-villous, glabrate, or sparsely to moderately villous, hairs thick-vitreous, eglandular.

usually cauline, basal not persistent, distinctly separated;

petiole 0 mm, sometimes 1–2 mm at proximal nodes;

blade bicolored, purplish abaxially, pinnately veined, ovate to elliptic-ovate, midcauline 10–35 × 6–18 mm, base rounded to subcordate, margins coarsely serrate-dentate to denticulate or subentire, apex short-attenuate to acute, obtuse, or rounded, surfaces densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, gland-tipped.
Flowers

herkogamous, 1–3(–5), from distal nodes.

herkogamous, (4–)8–30+, from medial to distal nodes, sometimes from all nodes.
Styles

hirtellous.

glabrous.
Corollas

yellow, red-dotted, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate;

tube-throat broadly funnelform, 15–28 mm, exserted 5–10 mm beyond calyx margin;

limb expanded 14–30 mm.

yellow, throat, tube, and proximal portion of abaxial 3 lobes with fine, red to brownish lines, weakly bilaterally or nearly radially symmetric, weakly bilabiate or nearly regular;

tube-throat narrowly funnelform, 12–15 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin;

limb 9–12 mm wide (pressed), lobes oblong-obovate, apex rounded to notched.
Fruiting pedicels

15–35(–40) mm, sparsely stipitate-glandular to short glandular-villous.

4–20(–25) mm, densely glandular-villous, hairs 1–2 mm, gland-tipped.
Fruiting calyces

usually purple-tinged and purple-dotted, broadly campanulate, inflated, sagittally compressed, 11–15 mm, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular to short glandular-villous, villous at sinuses, throat closing, lobes broadly ovate, abaxial usually longer than lateral, adaxial at least 2 times as long as others.

ridge- to wing-angled, campanulate to cylindric-campanulate, weakly inflated, 7–10 mm, densely glandular-villous, lobes erect to slightly spreading, unequal, triangular to linear-lanceolate, 2–4 mm, apex acuminate-apiculate.
Capsules

included, 5–7 mm.

included, 4–5 mm.
Anthers

included, glabrous.

included, glabrous or finely hirtellous to scabrous.
2n

= 28, 56.

Erythranthe tilingii

Erythranthe willisii
Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Seeps, springs, stream banks, shallow rivulets, cliff bases, ledges and crevices, steep gravelly slopes, wet meadows. Seepage, drainage margins, moist soils, talus, cracks and crevices, soils deprived from serpentine.
Elevation 1400–3400 m. (4600–11200 ft.) (500–)700–900 m. ((1600–)2300–3000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; AB
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
Discussion

Plants of Erythranthe tilingii are characterized by their relatively low stature and stems arising from a system of thin rhizomes and producing mostly one to three large flowers each; they usually occur at relatively high elevations. Erythranthe tilingii sometimes has been considered to include one or several infraspecific entities; from within this taxonomic amalgam, four distinct species are recognized here: E. caespitosa, E. corallina, E. minor, and E. tilingii. Erythranthe corallina and E. minor probably are more closely related to E. guttata. The populations identified here as E. tilingii from northeastern Oregon northeast to Alberta and southeast to Utah may prove to be a separate (undescribed) species.

Erythranthe tilingii in the strict sense is relatively widespread over the western United States and is sympatric with E. caespitosa and E. corallina. Leaves in E. tilingii are variable in size, and particularly in Idaho, they may approach the small size of those of E. caespitosa, but the leaf margins of E. tilingii are distinctly toothed, and the stems are taller and more erect. Across the range of the species, plants sometimes produce very large leaves, but these often occur on plants with characteristically smaller leaves. This wide variability in size apparently does not occur in E. caespitosa.

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

Erythranthe willisii is narrowly endemic over serpentine along the North Fork Feather River (including the North Branch) in Plumas County. In the original description, its range was said to include serpentine localities in closely adjacent areas of east-central Butte, Plumas, and northwestern Yuba counties, but subsequent field work has shown that these peripheral populations are E. moschata, and that E. willisii occurs only in the bottom of the Serpentine Canyon area. The most consistent and recognizable features of E. willisii are the long, sprawling stems often spread over a large area, sometimes reaching at least 45 cm and often with many crowded nodes, sessile or subsessile leaves with rounded to subcordate bases, and short pedicels, characteristically no longer than the subtending leaves (except sometimes the distal ones where subtending leaves are distinctly reduced in size). It is possible that stem growth in E. willisii is indeterminate versus determinate in E. moschata. Sessile to subsessile leaves occur in E. moschata, especially in the California Sierra Nevada, but petiole length and leaf base shape are variable within populations; lack of petioles and a rounded/subcordate base are fixed characters in E. willisii (as they are also in E. ptilota). Although large colonies of E. moschata are sometimes encountered, the individual plants tend to be erect (in California) and with few distal flowers. In the field, the dense vestiture of E. willisii is a prominent feature, but this is harder to distinguish in pressed specimens, and there is a strong tendency for purple abaxial leaf coloration in E. willisii. Phenology and flower morphology of E. willisii and E. moschata appear to be similar, but E. moschata in north-central California does not occur at as low elevations as E. willisii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 408. FNA vol. 17, p. 401.
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. ptilota, E. pulsiferae, E. purpurea, E. regni, E. rhodopetra, E. rubella, E. scouleri, E. shevockii, E. sierrae, E. suksdorfii, E. taylorii, E. thermalis, 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. 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
Synonyms Mimulus tilingii, M. caespitosus var. implexus, M. implexus, M. implicatus, M. langsdorffii var. tilingii, M. lucens, M. veronicifolius
Name authority (Regel) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2012-39: 44. (2012) G. L. Nesom: Phytoneuron 2017-17: 7, figs. 14–22. (2017)
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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