Diplacus bolanderi
Bolander's monkeyflower
no rights reserved · CC0
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Annual · Native
Diplacus bolanderi (Bolander's monkeyflower) is a native California annual in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by swollen ribbed calyx and throat hairs.
Bolander's monkeyflower is a California native annual found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, central western California, and western Transverse Ranges in granite outcrops, chaparral openings, and disturbed areas at elevations of 300 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces magenta flowers with a white throat floor, featuring delicate magenta hairs and blooming in pedicels 2 to 5 millimeters long. Growing 2 to 90 centimeters tall with generally dense hair coverage, it develops an erect or spreading form with multiple branching stems. Its leaves range from 5 to 60 millimeters long, changing from glabrous proximal leaves to densely hairy distal leaves, with shapes varying from oblanceolate to ovate. The fruit develops 8 to 20 millimeters long, with a calyx that becomes notably swollen and widely ribbed.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 24 sympatric species; swollen ribbed calyx and throat hairs
Habitat and range
Habitat: Granite outcrops, burns, openings in chaparral, disturbed areas
Elevation: generally 300-1700 m
Bloom period
Diplacus bolanderi blooms Apr-Jul.
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 bolanderi native to California?
Yes. Diplacus bolanderi is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus bolanderi bloom?
Diplacus bolanderi blooms Apr-Jul.
What plant family does Diplacus bolanderi belong to?
Diplacus bolanderi is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus bolanderi grow in?
Diplacus bolanderi grows in Granite outcrops, burns, openings in chaparral, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-06
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.