Diplacus brevipes
Wide-throat yellow monkeyflower
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Diplacus brevipes (Wide-throat yellow monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by strongly unequal calyx lobes diagnostic.
Wide-throat yellow monkeyflower is a California native annual found in southern Santa Cruz Mountains and southwestern California, including Santa Catalina Island, on bare or burned slopes in chaparral at elevations of 30 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces bright yellow flowers with a distinctive 15 to 30 millimeters long tube-throat. Growing 5 to 80 centimeters tall with generally dense hairy stems, it spreads in disturbed areas with a sprawling growth habit. Its leaves range from 7 to 90 millimeters long, varying from lanceolate to obovate, with the lowest leaves often completely hairless. The plant bears fruits 8 to 14 millimeters long, adapted to quickly colonizing recently burned or disturbed habitats.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 16 sympatric species; strongly unequal calyx lobes diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Bare, disturbed or burned areas on slopes in chaparral
Elevation: 30-2200 m
Outside California: Baja California
Bloom period
Diplacus brevipes 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 brevipes native to California?
Yes. Diplacus brevipes is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus brevipes bloom?
Diplacus brevipes blooms Apr-Jul.
What plant family does Diplacus brevipes belong to?
Diplacus brevipes is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus brevipes grow in?
Diplacus brevipes grows in Bare, disturbed or burned areas on slopes in chaparral.
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.