''Diplacus angustatus'' is a species of

monkeyflower Monkey flower can refer to: *Several genera of plant family Phrymaceae, including: ** ''Diplacus'' ** ''Erythranthe'' ** ''Mimulus'' *Various snapdragon-like Lamiales, including: ** ''Linaria vulgaris'' ** ''Phyllocarpus septentrionalis ''Barne ...

known by the common names purplelip pansy monkeyflower and narrowleaf pansy monkeyflower. Diplacus-angustatus2

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where its distribution is scattered around the

North Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. Phy ...

through the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

and a section of the

Sierra Nevada foothills :''See Sierra Nevada for general information about the mountain range in the United States.'' The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant ...

. It grows in moist habitat in open areas, such as

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s and

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

s, sometimes carpeting an open area with its tiny pink blooms.

Description

''Diplacus angustatus'' is a petite annual herb growing in ground-level tufts with hair-thin stems barely a centimeter tall. Its herbage is green to reddish in color, the paired linear leaves spreading about 1 to 3 centimeters long. The tubular base of the flower is surrounded by a hairy greenish to red calyx of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. The flower corolla is pale to bright pink to reddish-purple with one or more large purple spots, and sometimes yellow markings, in the throat. The trumpet-like corolla may be several centimeters long, much longer than the stem on which it is borne. Research suggests that the population size of this wildflower is positively affected by disturbance of the soil it grows in, especially by the activity of

pocket gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

s; plants growing on disturbed soil have bigger flowers, fewer plant competitors, and more

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

on their stigmas from greater numbers of neighboring ''D. angustatus''.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - Mimulus angustatusMimulus angustatus - Photo gallery
angustatus Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lamiales-stub