Diplacus constrictus

Dense-fruited monkeyflower

Family: Phrymaceae · Type: annual · Native

Dense-fruited monkeyflower is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and northern Western Transverse Ranges on slopes and road banks near runoff areas at elevations of 790 to 2,090 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces pink to red-purple flowers with white throats marked by dark maroon radiating lines, the tubular blossoms 13 to 22 millimeters long. Growing with hairy stems 2 to 24 centimeters tall, it spreads in low, delicate clusters across disturbed ground. Its leaves are narrowly elliptic to obovate, measuring 5 to 32 millimeters long, with rounded teeth on the upper edges. The plant's distinctive calyx swells noticeably in fruit, reaching 8 to 12 millimeters and bearing coarse hairs that give the plant a textured, wild appearance.

Habitat: Slopes, road banks near runoff areas

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 790-2090(2380) m

Bioregions: s SN, Teh, n WTR.

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.