Ellowlip pansy monkeyflower

Description

Diplacus pulchellus is an uncommon species of monkeyflower known by the common name yellowlip pansy monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus pulchellus. Diplacus pulchellus is a petite annual herb growing in small tufts or patches on the ground with hardly any stem. The oppositely arranged leaves are linear in shape and up to 3.5 centimeters long. The flower is 2 to 4 centimeters long and funnel-shaped, with a very narrow tubular base and very wide mouth. The flower is divided into an upper lip with two lobes and a lower with three. It is bicolored, the upper lip lavender to purple and the lower lip golden yellow; sometimes only the wide middle lobe of the lower lip is yellow. The hairy mouth of the flower is usually spotted and speckled with purple. Diplacus pulchellus is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, where it can be found at vernal pools, meadows, and other wet, open habitat. Diplacus is a plant genus in the family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. In the 2012 restructuring of Mimulus by Barker, et al., based largely upon DNA evidence, seven species were left in Mimulus, 111 placed into Erythranthe (species with axile placentation and long pedicels), 46 placed into Diplacus (species with parietal placentation and sessile flowers), two placed in Uvedalia, and one each placed in Elacholoma, Mimetanthe, and Thyridia. Diplacus used to be a separate genus from Mimulus, but it was merged into Mimulus no later than 1905, until the 2012 restructuring. Dry and rocky areas are preferred.