Diplacus douglasii
Purple mouse ears
(c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Diplacus douglasii (Purple mouse ears) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by tiny size, small lower lobes, hard fruits.
Purple mouse ears is a California native annual found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range foothills, Sierra Nevada foothills, central western California, and Warner Mountains in bare clay, serpentine, or granitic soils along upper banks of small creeks at elevations of 45 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces magenta flowers with a distinctive throat boldly striped in gold and purple, with upper lobes 4 to 5 millimeters long. Growing with tiny stems 0.3 to 4 centimeters tall and slightly hairy, it has a delicate, low-growing form. Its leaves are ovate to obovate, 5 to 28 millimeters long with a shiny green underside. The fruit is a small, hard, asymmetric-ovoid structure 2.5 to 6.5 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 22 sympatric species; tiny size, small lower lobes, hard fruits
Habitat and range
Habitat: Bare clay, serpentine or granitic soils; generally along upper banks of small creeks
Elevation: 45-1200 m
Outside California: southwestern Oregon
Bloom period
Diplacus douglasii blooms Feb-Apr.
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 douglasii native to California?
Yes. Diplacus douglasii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus douglasii bloom?
Diplacus douglasii blooms Feb-Apr.
What plant family does Diplacus douglasii belong to?
Diplacus douglasii is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus douglasii grow in?
Diplacus douglasii grows in Bare clay, serpentine or granitic soils; generally along upper banks of small creeks.
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.