Erythranthe suksdorfii, with the common names Suksdorf's monkeyflower and miniature monkeyflower, is an annual flowering plant in the family Phrymaceae (Lopseed). It was formerly known as Mimulus suksdorfii.[1][2][3][4] A specimen collected in Washington state in 1885 by the self-taught immigrant botanist Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf was identified as a new species by Asa Gray in 1886, who named it in Suksdorf's honor.[5][6] It can easily be misidentified with Erythranthe breviflora, which generally has elliptic leaves rather than the linear or oblong leaves found in E. suksdorfii.[7]
Erythranthe suksdorfii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Phrymaceae |
Genus: | Erythranthe |
Species: | E. suksdorfii
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Binomial name | |
Erythranthe suksdorfii |
E. suksdorfii is native to Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.[5] The plant prefers valleys and foothills in mountainous areas at elevations of 130–2,160 meters (430–7,090 ft).[7] It grows well in wetland-riparian areas that are moist in springtime and forests with Yellow Pine, Red Fir, and/or Lodgepole Pine in subalpine regions.[8] Soils with good drainage are preferred.[9] Its range has been severely impacted by human activity,[7][10] resulting in having the status of "sensitive" from the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service.[7]
E. suksdorfii is a dicot herb.[8] The petals are yellow and have red spots that appear from the throat to the lower corolla lobe, which is only 4–6.5 millimeters (0.16–0.26 in) long.[5] It flowers from mid-April to July, depending upon locality.[11] The calyx is mildly hairy. The leaves are opposite, slender, tapered, and hairy and generally sessile. The plant grows to a height of 3–10 centimeters (1.2–3.9 in).[7]