Diplacus tricolor
Tricolor monkeyflower
(c) Trevor Van Loon, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Diplacus tricolor (Tricolor monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by distinctive tricolored flowers and indehiscent fruits.
Tricolor monkeyflower is a California native annual found in southern North Coast Ranges, northern North Coast Ranges, eastern Great Valley, and southwestern Modoc Plateau in vernally wet depressions at elevations generally below 600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces magenta to purple flowers with a white throat marked by yellow folds and a distinctive large maroon-purple spot at the base of each lobe. Growing with slender stems 1 to 14 centimeters tall and densely covered in fine hairs, it forms delicate compact plants. Its narrow leaves range from 8 to 45 millimeters long, appearing elliptic to oblanceolate and lacking ciliate edges. Individual flowers emerge solitary at each node, creating a subtle, intricate display in its vernally wet habitat.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 8 sympatric species; distinguished by distinctive tricolored flowers and indehiscent fruits
Habitat and range
Habitat: Vernally wet depressions
Elevation: generally < 600 m (< 1500 m in MP)
Outside California: Oregon
Bloom period
Diplacus tricolor 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 tricolor native to California?
Yes. Diplacus tricolor is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus tricolor bloom?
Diplacus tricolor blooms Mar-Jun.
What plant family does Diplacus tricolor belong to?
Diplacus tricolor is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus tricolor grow in?
Diplacus tricolor grows in Vernally wet depressions.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Diplacus vandenbergensis — Vandenberg monkeyflower
- Diplacus viscidus — Viscid monkeyflower
- Diplacus angustatus — Purplelip pansy monkeyflower
- Diplacus aridus — Low bush monkeyflower
- Diplacus aurantiacus — Orange bush monkeyflower
- Diplacus australis
- Erythranthe acutidens — Kings river monkeyflower
- Erythranthe alsinoides — Chickweed monkeyflower
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.