Diplacus traskiae
Santa catalina island monkeyflower, Santa Catalina Island Monkeyflower
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 1A
Diplacus traskiae (Santa catalina island monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by extinct species with limited data, distinguished by bicolored flowers.
Santa catalina island monkeyflower is a rare (CNPS 1A) California native annual found in the southern Channel Islands on Santa Catalina Island at an unspecified elevation. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white and red-purple flowers with a flower tube 20 to 23 millimeters long and a limb 4 to 5 millimeters wide. Growing 8 to 12 centimeters tall with distinctive hairy stems, it develops as a delicate annual herb. Its leaves are ovate to obovate, 12 to 41 millimeters long, with ciliate edges near the base and petioles 1 to 12 millimeters in length. The fruit is approximately 8 millimeters long, oblique-oblong in shape, and appears to be hard and probably indehiscent.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; extinct species with limited data, distinguished by bicolored flowers
Habitat and range
Habitat: Presumed extinct; habitat and elevation unknown
Bloom period
Diplacus traskiae blooms Probably Mar-Apr.
Conservation status
CNPS 1A
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 traskiae native to California?
Yes. Diplacus traskiae is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus traskiae bloom?
Diplacus traskiae blooms Probably Mar-Apr.
What plant family does Diplacus traskiae belong to?
Diplacus traskiae is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
Is Diplacus traskiae rare or endangered?
Diplacus traskiae carries California Rare Plant Rank 1A, state rank SX.
What habitat does Diplacus traskiae grow in?
Diplacus traskiae grows in Presumed extinct; habitat and elevation unknown.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Diplacus tricolor — Tricolor monkeyflower
- Diplacus vandenbergensis — Vandenberg monkeyflower
- Diplacus viscidus — Viscid monkeyflower
- Diplacus angustatus — Purplelip pansy monkeyflower
- Diplacus aridus — Low bush monkeyflower
- Diplacus aurantiacus — Orange bush monkeyflower
- Erythranthe acutidens — Kings river monkeyflower
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.