Dwarf Monkeyflower, Dwarf Purple Monkeyflower, Dwarf Purple Monkey Flower
Diplacus nanus
Synonyms: Mimulus nanus, Mimulus nanus ssp. nanus, Mimulus nanus var. nanus
The
photo at right shows dwarf purple monkey flower as seen near LaPine, OR. Note
the yellow and darker red markings in the throat of the corolla.
Dwarf purple monkey flower is an attractive annual with low growth habits, rarely exceeding 10 cm in height. Its branching ranges from simple to well branched and its herbage is somewhat finely glandular. The leaves are inconspicuously 3-5 veined with entire margins. The blades of the lower leaves are oblanceolate while the upper are elliptic or elliptic-oblong or narrowly ovate and they may be up to 3.5 cm long and 1 cm wide.
The showy flowers are crowded on the upper stems with the corollas tubular and with the lobes two-lipped (2 above and 3 below) and about equal in size. The corolla ranges from 1-2.5 cm long and is a rich magenta in color with yellow and deeper red marks in the throat. The withered corolla may persist for some time after flowering. The calyx is 5-8 mm long with 5 lobes that are equally cleft.
Dwarf purple monkey flower lives in dry open areas, often in sand, gravel or talus, from the plains up into the foothills.
Dwarf purple monkey flower may be found from central Washington south to the east of the Cascades to northern California and east to southwestern Montana, northwestern Wyoming, and northeastern Nevada.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found at an elevation of 2800' in the Columbia Hills.
