Diplacus brandegeei
Santa cruz island monkeyflower
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Annual · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 1A
Diplacus brandegeei (Santa cruz island monkeyflower) is a native California annual in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by Channel Islands endemic with yellow throat folds.
Santa cruz island monkeyflower is a rare (CNPS 1A) California native annual found in the northern and southern Channel Islands including Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands in rocky places at elevations below 150 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces magenta flowers with a yellow throat featuring two prominent yellow folds, creating a striking color contrast. Growing diminutively at 1 to 10 centimeters tall with puberulent to hairy stems, it forms a delicate and compact botanical structure. Its leaves are elliptic to ovate, 6 to 39 millimeters long, with ciliate edges in the lower half and a distinctive purplish underside. The plant's small fruit is oblique and angled, measuring 6 to 11 millimeters long and remaining hard and indehiscent.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; Channel Islands endemic with yellow throat folds
Habitat and range
Habitat: Presumed extirpated in California. Rocky places
Elevation: < 150 m
Outside California: Baja California (Guadalupe Island)
Bloom period
Diplacus brandegeei blooms Mar-Apr.
Conservation status
CNPS 1A
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 brandegeei native to California?
Yes. Diplacus brandegeei is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus brandegeei bloom?
Diplacus brandegeei blooms Mar-Apr.
What plant family does Diplacus brandegeei belong to?
Diplacus brandegeei is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
Is Diplacus brandegeei rare or endangered?
Diplacus brandegeei carries California Rare Plant Rank 1A, state rank SX.
What habitat does Diplacus brandegeei grow in?
Diplacus brandegeei grows in Presumed extirpated in California. Rocky places.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos · CDFW CNDDB
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.