Diplacus angustatus
Purplelip pansy monkeyflower
(c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Diplacus angustatus (Purplelip pansy monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by distinctive long tube and habitat.
Purplelip pansy monkeyflower is a California native annual found in central and southern North Coast Ranges, southern California Ranges, and northern and southern Sierra Nevada Foothill regions in vernally wet depressions at elevations of 250 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces magenta-purple flowers with a distinctive large, dark purple spot at the base of the lowest corolla lobe. Growing with compact stems less than one centimeter tall and forming dense, small clusters, it remains mostly glabrous with minimal hairiness. Its leaves are linear, 5 to 36 millimeters long, with cilia along at least the proximal half of the leaf margin. The fruit is a small, hard, slightly oblique-ovoid structure measuring 2 to 4 millimeters in length.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 16 sympatric species; distinctive long tube and habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Vernally wet depressions
Elevation: 250-1200 m
Bloom period
Diplacus angustatus blooms Mar-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Erythranthe: Diplacus has a corolla that withers and stays attached and typically grows in dry, rocky places; Erythranthe drops its corolla cleanly and favors wet seeps and streambanks.; vs Mimulus: Diplacus covers the shrubby and small annual western monkeyflowers with ribbed, inflating calyces; Mimulus (in the strict sense) is a fleshy-stemmed perennial with squarish 4-angled stems.; vs Mimetanthe: Diplacus is puberulent to glandular with a distinctly 2-lipped flower; Mimetanthe is densely long-soft-wavy-hairy with tiny yellow flowers and a nearly regular calyx.; vs Collinsia: Diplacus has an open funnel-throated corolla and a 5-ribbed calyx; Collinsia has a sharply 2-lipped flower with the middle lower lobe folded into a keel that hides the stamens.; vs Antirrhinum: Diplacus has an open-throated corolla and free calyx lobes; Antirrhinum (snapdragon) has a closed, pouched throat sealed by a palate and a spurless sac at the base.
Frequently asked questions
Is Diplacus angustatus native to California?
Yes. Diplacus angustatus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus angustatus bloom?
Diplacus angustatus blooms Mar-Jun.
What plant family does Diplacus angustatus belong to?
Diplacus angustatus is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus angustatus grow in?
Diplacus angustatus grows in Vernally wet depressions.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.