''Diplacus puniceus'', commonly known as the red bush monkeyflower, San Diego monkey flower, or mission diplacus, is a species of perennial

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

native to coastal southern California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by a relatively small and broad corolla for '' Diplacus'', a lack of glandular hairs, and dark orange or red flowers, adapted to

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

pollinators.

Description

This plant is a glabrous (free from hair) evergreen subshrub or shrub, growing perennially. The entire plant on average is tall and wide. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are generally shaped linear-lanceolate, and more or less entire, with the tip of the leaves acute. The leaf margins (edges) are tightly rolled under, and the leaf is uniformly green, lacking hair. There are two to four flowers emerging per node. The pedicels are 9 to 22 mm long, the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

is 19 to 27 mm large, and the throat of the

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

tube is 27 to 35 mm long. The corolla is slightly decurved, and colored a dark orange to red. Flowering is from March to June.

Taxonomy

This plant has a chromosome count of 2n = 20. It is known to hybridize with '' Diplacus ×australis.'' It is suspected to be one of the parents of ''D.×australis'', along with '' D. longiflorus''. Red bush monkeyflower photo 3

The type specimen was collected from San Diego in 1836 by

Thomas Nutall Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Distribution and habitat

This plant occurs throughout Southern California, occupying granite outcrops, openings in the

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, and disturbed areas, from an elevation of 100 to 700 meters. It is primarily found in abundance in the coastal regions of San Diego County and Orange County, along with Riverside County. In Baja California, the plant is also found along the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

, from the vicinity of Tijuana south to

El Rosario ''El rosario'' is a 1944 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Juan José Ortega. The film is based on a novel by Florence L. Barclay. It stars Andrea Palma Andrea Palma (b. Trapani, 1644 or 1664 – d. 1730) was an 18th-century Italian arc ...

Horticulture

It is hardy from

USDA zones A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

9a to 11. It prefers well drained, sandy soils with a pH level between 6 and 8. It tolerates drought conditions.

References

layneae Flora of California Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lamiales-stub