Diplacus longiflorus
Sticky monkeyflower
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Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Shrub · Native
Diplacus longiflorus (Sticky monkeyflower) is a native California shrub in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by shrub form, large flowers, and long corolla tubes.
Sticky monkeyflower is a native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada, southern Central Western California, southwestern California including Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands, and southern Desert Mountains in well-drained, exposed sites at elevations of 7 to 2,440 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces orange to pale yellow-orange flowers with long tubular corollas reaching 34 to 50 millimeters in length. Growing as a glandular-puberulent subshrub with short soft hairs, it develops erect stems with distinctive growth patterns. Its narrowly elliptic leaves have serrate edges that curl slightly under during drought conditions, with hairy undersides featuring stellate hairs. The fruit develops 18 to 30 millimeters long, splitting along its upper suture.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 31 sympatric species; distinguished by shrub form, large flowers, and long corolla tubes
Habitat and range
Habitat: Well-drained, exposed sites; crevices in boulders or rock outcrops in desert areas
Elevation: 7-2440 m
Outside California: northern Baja California
Bloom period
Diplacus longiflorus blooms Mar-Jun.
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 longiflorus native to California?
Yes. Diplacus longiflorus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus longiflorus bloom?
Diplacus longiflorus blooms Mar-Jun.
What plant family does Diplacus longiflorus belong to?
Diplacus longiflorus is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus longiflorus grow in?
Diplacus longiflorus grows in Well-drained, exposed sites; crevices in boulders or rock outcrops in desert areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-08
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.