Diplacus thompsonii

Thompson's monkeyflower

Family: Phrymaceae · Type: annual · Native

Thompson's monkeyflower is a California native annual found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and adjacent desert mountain ranges in granitic soils, sandy slopes, and dry sagebrush flats at elevations of 1,800 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from May to July, this delicate plant produces dark magenta to red-purple flowers with a yellowish throat spotted with red, measuring 6 to 10 millimeters wide. Growing 3 to 15 centimeters tall with short glandular-soft hairs, it has a compact and delicate form. Its leaves are sessile, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, measuring 7 to 30 millimeters long and 2 to 7 millimeters wide. The small plant features a distinctive calyx that is darkened and blackish, with glandular-soft hairs and nearly equal lobes.

Habitat: Granitic soils and sands, sandy slope, dry sagebrush flats, pinyon and Jeffrey pine woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1800-2600 m

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