Diplacus pygmaeus
Egg lake monkeyflower, Egg Lake Monkeyflower
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 4.2
Diplacus pygmaeus (Egg lake monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by tiny size, yellow flowers, and indehiscent fruits.
Egg lake monkeyflower is a native annual found in southern California Ranges and High Sierra Nevada, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in vernally wet depressions and stream channels at elevations of 1,100 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from May to June, this tiny plant produces bright yellow flowers with delicate tube-throats 5 to 10 millimeters long. Growing as an extremely compact plant less than one centimeter tall with puberulent surfaces, it forms dense, diminutive clusters. Its leaves are small, 2 to 15 millimeters long, oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, with the lower half having distinctive ciliate edges. The fruit is a small, hard, ovoid structure 2 to 4 millimeters long, characteristic of its monkeyflower genus.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 12 sympatric species; distinguished by tiny size, yellow flowers, and indehiscent fruits
Habitat and range
Habitat: Vernally wet depressions or along stream channels, on clay soils
Elevation: 1095-1790 m
Outside California: southern Oregon
Bloom period
Diplacus pygmaeus blooms May-Jun.
Conservation status
CNPS 4.2
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 pygmaeus native to California?
Yes. Diplacus pygmaeus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus pygmaeus bloom?
Diplacus pygmaeus blooms May-Jun.
What plant family does Diplacus pygmaeus belong to?
Diplacus pygmaeus is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
Is Diplacus pygmaeus rare or endangered?
Diplacus pygmaeus carries California Rare Plant Rank 4.2, state rank S3.
What habitat does Diplacus pygmaeus grow in?
Diplacus pygmaeus grows in Vernally wet depressions or along stream channels, on clay soils.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos · CDFW CNDDB
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.